logo etygram

EtygramEtymologies Grecques Antiques et Médiévales
Ancient and Medieval Greek Etymologies

πῶϋ

Word

πῶϋ

Validation

No

Last modification

Sat, 04/08/2023 - 19:29

Word-form

πῶϋ

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ

Transliteration (Word)

pōu

English translation (word)

flock

Transliteration (Etymon)

*paomai

English translation (etymon)

to acquire

Author

Philoxenus

Century

1 BC

Reference

fr. *166

Edition

C. Theodoridis, Die Fragmente des Grammatikers Philoxenos [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 2. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1976

Source

Epimerismi Homerici

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici, pi 77

Ed.

A. Dyck, Epimerismi Homerici: Pars altera. Lexicon αἱμωδεῖν. Berlin – New York, 1995

Quotation

Πῶϋ· σημαίνει τὸ ποίμνιον. γίνεται παρὰ τὸ πῶ, τὸ κτῶμαι· τὰ γὰρ κτήματα ἐπὶ τῶν θρεμμάτων λέγεται.

Translation (En)

Pōu: it means "flock". It is made from *pō, "to acquire" (ktōmai); indeed ktēmata "possessions" is used when talking about cattle.

Other translation(s)

Pōu: cela signifie « troupeau ». Cela vient de *pō, « acquérir » (ktōmai) ; on dit en effet ktēmata « possessions » en parlant des bêtes.

Comment

Derivational etymology relating the word to the verb meaning "to be possessed with", as cattle was the main source of wealth in archaic Greece and is used as a measure of wealth in the Homeric epics.

Parallels

Etym. Gudianum, pi, p. 490 (Πῶϋ, τὸ ποίμνιον, παρὰ τὸ πῶ τὸ κτῶμαι, τὰ γὰρ κτήματα ἀπὸ τῶν θρεμμάτων λέγεται); Eustathius, Comm. Il. vol. 1, p. 206 (Ἔστι δὲ πάσασθαι τὸ γεύσασθαι, ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ «ἄπαστος ἐδητύος» ὁ ἄγευστος, [ὧν προϋπάρχει τὸ πῶ, τὸ κτῶμαι. ὅθεν καὶ τὸ πῶϋ καὶ πηός ὁ ἐξ ἀγχιστείας ἐπίκτητος συγγενὴς καὶ πολυπάμμων ὁ πολυθρέμμων, εἴτ’ οὖν πολύκτητος ταὐτὸν δὲ φάναι πολυκτήμων]); ibid., vol. 1, p. 782 (πάμματα γὰρ παρὰ Δωριεῦσι τὰ κτήματα καὶ πάσασθαι τὸ κτήσασθαι, ὅθεν καὶ τὸ πῶϋ καὶ πηός, ὁ κτητὸς ἐξ ἀγχιστείας συγγενής); ibid., vol. 4, p. 306 (Ἰστέον δὲ ὅτι ὁμωνύμου ὄντος τοῦ πάσασθαι τὸ μὲν Ὁμηρικόν, ὅπερ τὸ ἐμφαγεῖν δηλοῖ, ἐκ τοῦ πῶ, τὸ κτῶμαι, γίνεται, ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ τὸ πῶυ, καὶ ὁ πολυπάμμων, ἤτοι πολυκτήμων); Eustathius, Comm. Od. vol. 1, p. 173 (Ὅτι δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ πῶ τὸ κτῶμαι τὸ πῶϋ, ἐξ οὗ καὶ πηὸς ὁ ἐξ ἀγχιστείας ἐπίκτητος συγγενής); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 699 (Πῶϋ: Κλίνεται πώεος, καὶ σημαίνει τὸ ποίμνιον·[...] ἢ παρὰ τὸ πῶ, τὸ κτῶμαι); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, pi, p. 1602 (Πῶϋ. τὸ ποίμνιον. [...] ἢ παρὰ τὸ πῶ, τὸ κτῶμαι, ἐξ οὗ καὶ πάσασθαι, τὸ κτήσασθαι. τὸ πῶϋ, τοῦ πώεος); Scholia et gloassae in Oppiani Halieutica, book 1, scholion 66 (πώεα· ποιμνία ἀπὸ τοῦ πῶ τὸ κτῶμαι· κτῆμα γὰρ ἐπὶ θρεμμάτων λέγεται)