ἁφή
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ἥβη, ἡ θεὸς, μετὰ δέ σφισι πότνια Ἥβη. καὶ ἡ νεότης, καὶ γ’ ἔχει ἥβης ἄνθος, καὶ ἀνδρότητα καὶ ἥβην, ἤδη τὶς οὖσα, ἤδει γὰρ ἡμᾶς, ὡς ἄνθος οὖσα, καὶ μεταπτώσει τοῦ δ εἰς β Βοιωτικῶς. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἅπτω ἁφὴ καὶ ἥβη, κατὰ τροπὴν τοῦ α καὶ τοῦ φ. πηρώδεις γὰρ οἱ ἡβῶντες, ἢ ἁφή τις οὖσα, τότε γὰρ ἁπτόμεθα καὶ ἔργου καὶ γυναικός. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἠβαιὸν, ἡ ἐπ’ ὀλίγον χρόνον οὖσα, ἀπὸ τοῦ βεβηκέναι ἅβη καὶ ἥβη.
Translation (En)
Hēbē, the goddess of youth "and with them august Hebe" (Hom.). And the youth, "and he has the flower of youth", and "manliness and youth" (Hom.). It is a *hēdē "enjoyment", as it were, because it rejoices us, as a flower. And by change of /d/ into /b/, in the Boeotian fashion. Or from haptō "to kindle", haphē "kindling", and with change of /a/ and /ph/ Because young men are fiery. Or a haphē a "touch", as it were, because youth is when we first touch both work and woman . Or from ēbaion "little", the one that lasts for a short time, from bebēkenai "to have gone", *habē and hēbē
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 417 (Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἅπτω, ἁφὴ, καὶ ἥβη τροπῇ τοῦ α καὶ τοῦ φ· πυρώδεις γὰρ οἱ ἡβῶντες. Ἢ ἁφή τις οὖσα· τότε γὰρ ἁπτόμεθα καὶ ἔργων καὶ γυναικός); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, eta, p. 971 (idem)
Comment
Derivational etymology implying several formal manipulations (change of the vowel and the consonant). It appears twice, because it relies on two different meanings of ἅπτω, "to touch" (hence the second explanation, ἢ ἁφή τις οὖσα, τότε γὰρ ἁπτόμεθα καὶ ἔργου καὶ γυναικός, meaning that the young man starts to work to earn his life and becomes sexually mature), or "to kindle" (hence the first explanation παρὰ τὸ ἅπτω ἁφὴ καὶ ἥβη, κατὰ τροπὴν τοῦ α καὶ τοῦ φ. πηρώδεις γὰρ οἱ ἡβῶντες)