βοῦς + κόλον
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
βουκόλος
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
boukolos
English translation (word)
shepherd, cowherd
Transliteration (Etymon)
bous + kolon
English translation (etymon)
ox + food
Century
2-3 AD
Source
idem
Ref.
Deipnosophistae 6.80
Ed.
G. Kaibel, Athenaei Naucratitae deipnosophistarum libri xv, 3 vols., Leipzig: Teubner, 1-2:1887; 3:1890
Quotation
κόλον γὰρ ἡ τροφή, ὅθεν καὶ ὁ βουκόλος καὶ ὁ δύσκολος, ὅς ἐστι δυσάρεστος καὶ σικχός, κοιλία τε ἡ τὴν τροφὴν δεχομένη
Translation (En)
For kolon means "food", from which come boukolos "cowherd" and duskolos "hard to satisfy", he who is hard to please and fussy, and koilia "belly", the one receiving food.
Parallels
Schol. Od. γ 422h Pontani (βουκόλος] τοῦτο δὲ γέγονεν παρὰ τὸ “βοῦς” καὶ τοῦ “κόλον”, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν τροφήν, οἱονεὶ ὁ τὰς βοῦς τρέφων); Eustathius, Comm. Od., vol. 2, p. 141 (εἰ δὲ καὶ κόλον τροφὴν οἱ παλαιοί φασιν, ὅθεν ὁ βουκόλος, καὶ κοιλίαν τὴν τῆς τροφῆς δεκτικὴν, εἴη ἂν ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ἄκολος ψωμὸς ὁ ὀλιγοτρόφος)
Modern etymology
Compound of βοῦς and the root of πέλομαι, *kwelh1-, with delabialization of the labiovelar, already in Mycenaean qo-u-ko-ro. Same second member in αἰπόλος, ἀμφίπολος without delabialization (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
Yes
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The second member of the compound is identified as a (vary rare) word meaning "food". The cowherd is the one who provides food to cattle. The structure of the compound does not include the verb "to provide", since the compound is simply assumed to be "cow-food", which should not result in a meaning "cowherd", but Greek etymologists had no clear idea of what the structure of a compound is like.