φυτόν + θέσις

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No

Last modification

Sat, 05/06/2023 - 12:00

Word-form

πυθμήν

Transliteration (Word)

puthmēn

English translation (word)

bottom

Transliteration (Etymon)

phuton + thesis

English translation (etymon)

plant + setting

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etymologicum, pi, p.132

Ed.

F.W. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig: Weigel, 1820

Quotation

Πυθμήν. φυτοθεμὴν ἐστὶ, οἷον ἡ τοῦ φυτοῦ θέσις, καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ φ εἰς π, πυθμήν.

Translation (En)

Puthmēn "bottom": *phutothemēn, as though it were "setting of the plant" (phutou thesis) and, with change of [ph] into [p], puthmēn

Comment

Compositional etymology. It was designed to explain a derived meaning of πυθμήν "root" of a plant, hence the etymon φυτόν.

Parallels

Et. Genuinum, [Vat. gr. 1818, f.257r, ll.6-8] (Πυθμήν: Φυτοθεμήν τις ἐστὶν, οἷον τοῦ φυτοῦ θέσις· φυθμὴν καὶ πυθμήν. Οὕτως Ὦρος. Ὁ δὲ Θεόγνωτος, ἀπὸ κεύθω, τὸ κρύπτω, κευθὴν καὶ κυθήν·  πλεονασμῷ τοῦ μ καὶ τροπῇ, πυθμὴν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p.696, 31 (Πυθμήν: Φυτοθεμήν τις ἐστὶν, οἷον τοῦ φυτοῦ θέσις· φυθμὴν καὶ πυθμήν. Οὕτως Ὦρος. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ φύω φύσω φυθμήν· καὶ σημαίνει δὲ τὸν κοῖλον τόπον. Ὁ δὲ Θεόγνωτος, παρὰ τὸ κεύθω, τὸ κρύπτω, κευθὴν καὶ κυθήν·  πλεονασμῷ τοῦ μ καὶ τροπῇ, πυθμὴν, βαθυπυθμὴν, ἀπυθμήν. Τὸ υ, ψιλόν); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, p.1594, 7 (Πυθμήν. γένεσις, ἀρχὴ, ῥίζα, ἢ τὸ ὑποκάτω τοῦ βάθους. φυτοθεμὴν τίς ἐστιν, οἷον τοῦ φυτοῦ θέσις, φυθμὴν καὶ πυθμήν. οὕτως Ὦρος ὁ Μιλήσιος. ὁ δὲ Θεόγνωστος παρὰ τὸ κεύθω, τὸ κρύπτω, κευθὴν καὶ κυθμὴν πλεονασμῷ τοῦ μ, καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ κ εἰς π πυθμήν)

Modern etymology

Cognate with Lat. fundus, Ved. budhná-, Engl. bottom, Germ. boden. Isolated within Greek (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has πυθμένας "bottom" of a vase, as a learned word, remodeled after the acc. πυθμένα

Entry By

Arthur de Tocqueville