βοῦς + κομέω

Validation

No

Last modification

Sun, 09/17/2023 - 12:45

Word-form

βουκόλος

Transliteration (Word)

boukolos

English translation (word)

shepherd, cowherd

Transliteration (Etymon)

bous + komeō

English translation (etymon)

ox + to tend

Author

Didymus Chalcenterus

Century

1 BC

Source

Etym. Genuinum

Ref.

Etym. Genuinum, beta 210

Ed.

F. Lasserre and N. Livadaras, Etymologicum magnum genuinum. Symeonis etymologicum una cum magna grammatica. Etymologicum magnum auctum, vol. 1, Rome: Ateneo, 1976

Quotation

Βουκόλος Ν 571· ἤτοι βουκόνος τις ὤν, παρὰ τὸ κονεῖν περὶ τὰς βοῦς, ὅ ἐστιν ἐνεργεῖν καὶ διατρίβειν. ἢ βουσὶ κεκλόμενος, ὅ ἐστιν ἐγκελευόμενος. ἢ παρὰ τὸ κέλλω, ὃ σημαίνει ὁ ἅμα τοῖς βουσὶ κέλλων. Δίδυμος (p. 402, fr. 5 Schmidt) δὲ παρὰ τὸ κομεῖν εἰρῆσθαι, ἵν’ ᾖ βουκόμος, ὡς ἱπποκόμος, καὶ κατὰ τροπὴν βουκόλος

Translation (En)

Boukolos "cowherd": that is, *boukonos, as it were, from "to hasten" (koneîn) around cattle, that is, to be active and to take care of cattle. Or the one who commands (keklomenos) to the cows. Or from kellō, which means "driving on" the oxen. But Didymus says that it is thus called from komeîn "to tend", so that it is a *boukomos, as hippokomos "who attends the horses"

Comment

The second member is identified as the agent noun matching κομέω, by analogy with ἱπποκόμος which has a similar structure (Object-Verb). This implies a formal change, from /m/ to /l/.

Parallels

Etym. Gudianum, beta, p. 281 (Βουκόλοι <Ν 571>· ἤτοι βουκόνοι, παρὰ τὸ κονεῖν περὶ τὰς βοῦς, τροπῇ τοῦ ν εἰς λ, ὡς νίτρον λίτρον· ἢ βουκόλοι, ὅ ἐστι βουσὶ κεκλόμενοι, ἤτοι ἐγκελευόμενοι, παρὰ τὸ κέλω κέλομαι <Α 74> „ὦ Ἀχιλεῦ, κέλεαί με“· ἢ βουσὶ κεκολλημένοι. οὕτως εὗρον ἐν Ὑπομνήματι τῆς Ν Ὁμήρου. Ἀθήναιος <6, 80, p. 262 a> δέ, τὸν βουκόλον εἰρῆσθαι παρὰ τὸ κόλον, ὅ ἐστι τροφή, ἵνα ᾖ ὁ τοῖς βουσὶ τὴν τροφὴν προφέρων. ἢ παρὰ τὸ κέλλω, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ πορεύομαι, ὁ ἅμα τοῖς βουσὶ κέλλων. Δίδυμος <p. 402, 5 Schmidt> δέ, παρὰ τὸ κομεῖν εἰρῆσθαι, ἵν’ ᾖ βουκόμος, ὡς ἱπποκόμος, ἐν τροπῇ τοῦ μ εἰς τὸ λ); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 208 (idem); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, beta, p. 397 (idem); Scholia in Theocritum (vetera), Prolegomenon Anecdoton Estense III, section 4 (ὅτι βουκόλος, ὅθεν καὶ βουκολικά, λέγεται ὁ τῶν βοῶν νομεύς, ὡς μέν τινες κακῶς τὸ ἔτυμον λέγοντες παρὰ τὸ βοῦς καὶ τὸ κονεῖν (ῥονεῖν cod., corr. Kayser) τὸ ἐνεργεῖν καὶ διατρίβειν· κονεῖ (ῥονεῖ cod., corr. idem) γὰρ ἢ ἐνεργεῖ τι περὶ τὰς βοῦς ὁ βουκόλος. ὡς δ’ ἕτεροι κάλλιον, παρὰ τὸ κέλεσθαι ἤγουν προστάσσειν τοῖς βουσὶν ἢ τὸ κέλλειν καὶ (ὴ in corr. secundum Kayserum, καὶ esse suspicor) τρέχειν σὺν τοῖς βουσί, βούκελος καὶ βουκόλος. […] ὅτι δὲ καὶ κέλλω τὸ τρέχω λέγεται, ὅ τε κέλης ὁ δρομαῖος ἵππος (ἱππεὺς cod., corr. Kayser 79 n. 2) δηλοῖ καὶ τὸ νωχελές, ἀπὸ τοῦ νω στερητικοῦ καὶ τοῦ κέλλω συγκείμενον, τροπῇ τοῦ κ εἰς χ. ἄριστα δὲ ὁ Δίδυμος εἴρηκεν ἀπὸ τοῦ βοῦς καὶ τοῦ κομέω ~ κομῶ τὸ ἐπιμελοῦμαι παράγεσθαι, βουκόμος καὶ βουκόλος, ὥσπερ καὶ ἱπποκόμος)

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