λείπω

Validation

Yes

Word-form

λιμός

Transliteration (Word)

limos

English translation (word)

hunger

Transliteration (Etymon)

leipō

English translation (etymon)

to leave

Author

Tryphon

Century

1 BC

Reference

Treatise 22, fr. 1

Edition

A. von Velsen, Tryphonis grammatici Alexandrini fragmenta, Berlin: Nikolaus, 1853

Source

Etym. Magnum

Ref.

Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 566

Ed.

T. Gaisford, Etymologicum magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1848

Quotation

Λιμός, ἡ λεῖψις τῶν ἐπιτηδείων. γίνεται παρὰ τὸ λείπω λείψω λιμός· καὶ ὤφειλε διὰ διφθόγγου γράφεσθαι· ἀλλὰ συνέπαθεν ἡ φωνὴ τῷ σημαινομένῳ· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔνδειαν δηλοῖ, τούτου χάριν καὶ ἔνδειαν φωνήεντος ἀνεδέξατο, ὡς Τρύφων. ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλώνιος ἐξ ἀφορμῆς τοῦ λιμπάνω

Translation (En)

Limos "hunger", the lack of what is necessary. It comes from the verb leipō "to leave", leipsō, limos. And it should be spelled with a diphthong, but the sound suffered the same loss as the meaning: since it indicates a lack ‹of something›, for that reason the vowel was also provided with a lack. This is what Tryphon says. But Apollonius says that the starting point is the verb limpanō

Comment

This is a nice example of iconic explanation, which implies a phonetic manipulation (loss of a vowel) justified by semantics, the phonetic shape of the word being supposed to imitate the meaning of the word: the missing vowel makes the lack of food audible. This is coherent with the general idea in Greek etymology that the phonetic shape is motivated. The root of λείπω appeared under the variant [leim] in λείμμα, from *λείπμα, which may have influenced the link between this root and λιμός. The fact that λῑμός has a long ῑ whereas the zero grade of λείπω (λιπεῖν etc.) has a short ῐ was not a problem in a state of language where vocalic quantity was lost. Apollonius' explanation starting from λιμπάνω "to leave" amounts to the same etymology from the semantic point of view, since λιμπάνω is derived from λείπω: from the formal point of view, it retains from the present stem the sequence [lim] and Apollonius probably admitted that the [p] was dropped, although our source does not say it explicitly

Parallels

Herodian, Peri orthographias, Lentz III/2, p. 545 (λιμός· διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεται. καὶ ὤφειλε διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου γράφεσθαι, ἐπειδὴ παρὰ τὸ λείπω ἐστίν· ὁ γὰρ λιμός λεῖψίς ἐστι τῶν ἐπιτηδείων. ἀλλ’ ἡ παράδοσις ἔχει τὸ ι· λέγει δὲ ὁ Τρύφων, ὅτι συνέπαθε ἡ φωνὴ τῷ σημαινομένῳ· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔνδειαν σημαίνει τινὸς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων, τούτου χάριν καὶ ἔνδειαν φωνήεντος ἀνεδέξατο. ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλώνιός φησι, ὅτι τὸ λιμός διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεται ἐξ ἀφορμῆς τοῦ λιμπάνω); Orion, Etymologicum, phi, p. 28 (s.v. φιλήτης) (φασὶν, ὅτι πολλάκις αἱ λέξεις 
συμπάσχουσι τῷ σημαινομένῳ. ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ λιμός. ἔλλειψιν γὰρ δηλοῖ τροφῆς. διόπερ ἡ λέξις ἐνέλειψε
 τοῦ ι. ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ λείψω ἔδει ἔχειν τὴν ει δίφθογγον); Choeroboscus, De orthographia (epitome) p. 235; Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos p. 27 (Τὸ δὲ λιμὸς διὰ τί γράφεται διὰ τοῦ Ι; Διότι πολλά εἰσιν ὀνόματα ἀπὸ ῥημάτων γινόμενα, καὶ γραφομένων τῶν ῥημάτων διὰ διφθόγγου, τῶν δὲ ὀνομάτων διὰ τοῦ Ι, οἷον πείθω πιθανὸς, λείχω λιχανὸς, οἰκτείρω οἰκτιρμὸς, σείω σῖτος· οὕτως οὖν καὶ λείπω λιμός); ibid. p. 139 (παρὰ τὸ λείπω, λιπὸς καὶ λιμός); Etym. Genuinum, lambda 112 (Λιμός· παρὰ τὸ λείπω. ἔστιν γὰρ ὁ λιμὸς λεῖψις τῶν ἐπιτηδείων. ἡ παράδοσις ἔχει τὸ Ι, ὤφειλε δὲ διὰ τῆς ΕΙ διφθόγγου γράφεσθαι. καί φησιν ὁ Τρύφων, ὅτι συνέπαθεν ἡ φωνὴ τῷ σημαινομένῳ· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔνδειάν τινος σημαίνει, φημὶ δὴ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων, τούτου χάριν καὶ ἔνδειαν φωνήεντος ἀνεδέξατο); Etym. Gudianum, lambda, p. 370-371 (Λιμὸς λοιμοῦ διαφέρει· λιμὸς γὰρ ἐστὶν ἔνδεια τῶν ἀναγκαίων, λοιμὸς δὲ πάθος θανάσιμον λοιμοῦ παρακολοθοῦντος· καὶ Δωριεῖς μὲν ἡ λιμὸς, Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ ὁ λιμός· ἔδει δὲ διὰ τῆς οι διφθόγγου, ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ λείπω ἐστὶ· καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἔνδειαν σημαίνει τῶν ἀναγκαίων, τούτου χάριν ἔνδειαν φωνῆς ἀνεδέξατο); J. Galenus, Allegoriae in Hesiodi Theogoniam p. 300 (πολλὰς δ’ εὑρήσει τις συμπασχούσας λέξεις τοῖς ὑπ’ αὐτῶν σημαινομένοις καὶ μιμουμένας αὐτά. καὶ μάρτυς τοῦ λόγου τὸ λιμὸς ὄνομα· δέον γὰρ διὰ διφθόγγου γράφεσθαι ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ λείπω καὶ τοῦ αἷμα γεγονός, ὅμως τὴν τῶν λιμωττόντων συστολὴν καὶ τὸ πάθος ἐμιμήσατο, καὶ ἔπαθέ τινα ἔνδειαν τοῦ ε, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ἰδέα ὄνομα καὶ τὸ εἶδος μαρτυροῦσι); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 1, 90 (γίνεται δὲ ὁ λοιμὸς ἐκ τοῦ λέλειμμαι, δι’ οὗ δηλαδὴ λείπουσι τὰ ζῶντα. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ καὶ ὁ διὰ τοῦ ἰῶτα λιμός, ὡς ἀλλαχοῦ φανεῖται); ibid., p. 298 (ὁ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ λείπω λιμὸς τὸ τῶν λιμωττόντων, φασίν, ἐμφαίνει ἰσχνὸν τῇ διὰ τοῦ ι μόνου γραφῇ); Eustathius, Commentarium in Dionysii periegetae orbis descriptionem 916 (Ἡ δὲ ῥηθεῖσα τῆς διφθόγγου συστολὴ, ὡς καὶ πρὸ ὀλίγου ἐρρέθη, καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις γέγονεν, ἐν οἷς καὶ ὁ λιμὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ λέλειμμαι, καὶ ἡ ἰδέα ἐκ τοῦ εἴδους); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, lambda, p. 1308 (Λιμός. παρὰ τὸ λείπω. ὁ γὰρ λιμὸς λεῖψις ἐστὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων. ἡ παράδοσις ἔχει τὸ ι. ὤφειλε δὲ διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου γράφεσθαι)

Modern etymology

Within Greek, λῑμός is related to λοιμός. A connection with λιάζομαι "to retire, to fall" has been suggested (RPh 2011, Chronique d'Etymologie grecque n° 13), but is debated

Persistence in Modern Greek

Λιμός is still used in Modern Greek to designate the famine. It also gave the derivative verb λιμάζω, with the meaning 'to be extremely hungry', as well as the verb λιμοκτονώ, with the same meaning.

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