νομή + ἅμα
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
νᾶμα
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
nama
English translation (word)
stream
Transliteration (Etymon)
nomas + hama
English translation (etymon)
pasture + at once, together
Century
5 AD
Source
idem
Ref.
Etymologicum, nu, p. 181
Ed.
F.W. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig, 1820
Quotation
Νάμα· διὰ τὸ νομὰς ἔχειν ἅμα εἰκῶς.
Translation (En)
Nama “stream”: because it has pastures [nomas] at the same time [hama], probably.
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, nu, p. 402 (Νᾶμα, τὸ ὕδωρ, διὰ τὸ νομὰς ἔχειν ἅμα εἰκός)
Modern etymology
Derivative of νάω "to flow", probably from an older *νάϝημα. Probably cognate with Sanskrite snauti "to drip" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has νάμα "stream" as a learned word in frozen phrases.
Entry By
Eva Ferrer
Comment
Compositional etymology. The first member, νομή, is reduced to its initial letter /n/, and the second member ἅμα is kept. The fact that νᾶμα has a long /ā/ in the first syllable, whereas ἅμα has a short /ă/ was not an obstacle because the etymology was designed at a time when phonological vowel quantity was lost. The idea is that a river comes together with grassland for cattle.