ψάω

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Last modification

Tue, 07/04/2023 - 22:17

Word-form

ψιλός

Transliteration (Word)

psilos

English translation (word)

bare

Transliteration (Etymon)

psaō

English translation (etymon)

to wipe

Author

Philoxenus

Century

1 BC

Reference

fr. *211

Edition

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

Source

Orion

Ref.

Etymologicum, psi, p. 167

Ed.

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

Quotation

Ψιλός· παρὰ τὸ ψῶ, ὅθεν καὶ τὸ καταψῶ· οὗ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἀπέψισται καὶ ἀφῄρηται.

Translation (En)

Psilos "bare": from *psō "to wipe", from which also comes katapsō "to stroke"; of which absolutely everything is stripped and taken away from.

Other translation(s)

Psilos « dégarni » : de *psō « essuyer », d’où vient aussi katapsō « caresser »; ce dont absolument tout est rasé et supprimé.

Comment

Derivational etymology. It implies a formal change of the vowel, which remains implicit. The gloss used by Philoxenus, ἀπέψισται, perfect of an *ἀποψίζω (?), is otherwise unattested and may be corrupt. From the semantic point of view the etymology relies on a missing element: what is bare, nude is that from which clothes or hair have been wiped off, and the important element is the preverb ἀπο-, which is in the gloss but not in the etymon (see ψεδνός / ψάω)

Parallels

Commentaria in Dionysii Thracis Artem grammaticam, Scholia Marciana, Gr. Gr. 1.3, p. 296 (ψῶ τὸ λεπτύνω, ἀφ’ οὖ καὶ ψιλὸν στρατιώτην λέγομεν τὸν ἄοπλον καὶ γυμνὸν ἤτοι τὸν ἀσθενῆ καὶ ἀδύνατον); Scholia in Aristophanis Ranas, v. 490 (ψῶ σημαίνει πέντε. τὸ λεπτύνω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ψιλὸν στρατιώτην λέγομεν τὸν ἄοπλον καὶ γυμνόν); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos, vol. 3, p. 1 (Τὸ ψῶ σημαίνει εʹ· τὸ λεπτύνω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ψιλὸν στρατιώτην λέγομεν, τὸν ἄοπλον καὶ γυμνόν); Etym. Gudianum, psi, p. 574 (Ψιλὸς, ὁμοίως παρὰ τὸ ψῶ, τὸ προσεγγίζω); ibid., psi, p. 574 (Ψιλὸς, παρὰ τὸ ψῶ, τὸ σημαῖνον τὸ λεπτύνω, καὶ ἐκ τούτου ψιλὸς ὁ ἀσθενὴς, μόνος, μικρὸν, μηδὲν ἔχον· καὶ εἰς τὸ γυμνὸς, καὶ εἰς τὸ δαψιλός.); ibid., psi, p. 576 (ψῶ τὸ λεπτύνω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ψιλὸν στρατιώτην λέγομεν τὸν ἄοπλον καὶ γυμνὸν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 818 (Ψιλός: Ὁ ἀδύνατος· παρὰ τὸ ψῶ· ὅθεν καὶ καταψῶ· οὗ πᾶν ἀπέψισται καὶ ἀφῄρηται); ibid., p. 819 (ψῶ, τὸ λεπτύνω καὶ σμικρύνω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ψιλὸς στρατιώτης, ὁ ἄοπλος καὶ γυμνός); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, psi, p. 1873 (Ψιλός. ὁ γυμνός. παρὰ τὸ ψῶ, τὸ λεπτύνω)

Modern etymology

Unclear (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

In MG ψιλός means "thin". Various technical meanings derive from the older meaning

Entry By

Eva Ferrer