δα- + φωνή
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
δάφναν
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
daphnē
English translation (word)
laurel (Laurus nobilis)
Transliteration (Etymon)
da + phōnē
English translation (etymon)
much + voice
Source
idem
Ref.
Scholia in Theocritum (scholia vetera) 2.23-26a
Ed.
K. Wendel, Scholia in Theocritum vetera, Leipzig: Teubner, 1914
Quotation
δάφναν: ... <δαί>εσθαι φωνὴν ἀφιέναι· καιομένη γὰρ μέγα ἠχεῖ
Translation (En)
daphnan "laurel": <from> the fact that it produces a voice (phōnēn) when it is burnt (<dai>esthai). For, when burning, it makes a loud (mega) noise
Parallels
Mauropus, Etymologica nominum 455 (Δάφνη δαφοίνη, κἂν κάῃς, φωνεῖ μέγα)
Modern etymology
Loanword (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has δάφνη as the name of the tree
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Compositional etymology. The tree is said to crackle noisily when it burns. The full etymon is *δα-φωνή "loud voice", and a syncope is assumed. In the scholion, δα- is glossed by μέγα.