λα- + κύτος

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Last modification

Sat, 10/07/2023 - 10:30

Word-form

λήκυθος

Transliteration (Word)

lēkuthos

English translation (word)

oil-flask

Transliteration (Etymon)

la- + kutos

English translation (etymon)

greatly + hollow

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etymologicum, lambda, p. 93

Ed.

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

Quotation

Λήκ<υ>θος. παρὰ τὸ μεγάλας χωρεῖν. ἢ λεῖον ἔχουσα κύτος, μεγαλόκητος.

Translation (En)

Lēk<u>thos "oil-flask": from the fact that it contains a lot; or the one having a smooth cavity (leion kutos), with a large hollow (megalokētos)

Comment

Compositional etymology. The text as printed by Sturz is probably corrupt: the word λεῖον "smooth" can hardly account for λα-, and on the other hand the compound provided as a gloss, μεγαλόκητος, a reformulation of the Homeric μεγακητής, epithet of ships meaning "with a large hollow", shows that the first member was originally identified as the intensive prefix λα-. A possible explanation would be that the iotacized pronunciation /likiθos/ (the spelling of the lemma in the manuscript is λήκιθος)) resulted in the fact that the copyist thought that the first member λα-, implied by the gloss μεγαλόκητος, was not correct, and he thought up a new etymology with a first member phonetically closer to /li/: λεῖος "smooth" fits this requirement and is semantically compatible with the notion of vase since the interior surface is indeed smooth. But he did not erase the gloss μεγαλόκητος, apparently because he did not see that it was not compatible with his own etymology. One formal change is required in the second member, from /t/ to /th/ (*λα-κυτος → λήκυθος)

Parallels

Etym. Genuinum, lambda 89 (Λήκυθος: ἀγγεῖον τὸ λεγόμενον λαγύνιον. παρὰ τὸ λάχυτός τις οὖσα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ κύτος λάκυτός τις οὖσα, ἡ μέγα κύτος ἔχουσα); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 563 (Λήκυθος: Ἀγγεῖον ἐλαιοδόχον· ἢ τὸ λεγόμενον λαγύνιον· λάχυτός τις οὖσα, παρὰ τὸ μεγάλως χωρεῖν. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ κύτος λάκυτος, ἡ μεγαλόκυτος. Ἢ λεῖον κύτος ἔχουσα· ἢ τὸ προχούδιον, παρὰ τὸ ἔλαιον κεύθειν); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, lambda, p. 1304 (Λήκυθος. ἐλαιοδόχον ἀγγεῖον ἢ λαγύνιον. λάχυτός τις οὖσα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ κύτος τις οὖσα, ἡ μέγα κύτος ἔχουσα. λήκυθος καὶ ἐπὶ ἀρσενικοῦ)

Modern etymology

Probably a loanword (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has λήκυθος as a learned technical word

Entry By

Le Feuvre