δρῦς

Validation

No

Last modification

Sat, 12/30/2023 - 18:20

Word-form

δόρυ

Transliteration (Word)

doru

English translation (word)

tree, stem, beam, spear

Transliteration (Etymon)

drûs

English translation (etymon)

oak

Author

Theon of Alexandria

Century

1 AD

Source

Etym. Gudianum

Ref.

Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, delta, p. 376

Ed.

E.L. de Stefani, Etymologicum Gudianum, fasc. 1 & 2, Leipzig: Teubner, 1:1909; 2:1920 (repr. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1965)

Quotation

Δόρυ· δρύον ἂν εἴη παρὰ τὴν δρῦν, οἷον δρύϊνον. οὕτως εὗρον ἐν Ὑπομνήματι Θέωνος εἰς τὴν Ὀδύσσειαν

Translation (En)

Doru "spear": it should be *druon. From drûs "oak", like "oak-made". This is what I found in Theon's Commentary on the Odyssey

Comment

Derivational etymology meant for the meaning "spear" of δόρυ rather than for the meaning "tree" (which, anyway, is no lunger used in Greek), as can be seen from the Epimerisms. It derives the name of the spear from the name of the oak by assuming the spear is made of oak wood (etymology relying on a metonymy). Formally, the etymology requires a metathesis, *δρυο- (maybe taken from the genitive δρυός) > δόρυ

Parallels

Orion, Etymologicum, delta, p. 44 (Δόρυ. δρύον ἂν εἴη· παρὰ τὴν δρῦν, οἷον δρύϊνον); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, delta 9 (δουρί: ἐκ τοῦ δρῦς δρυός καὶ ὑπερβιβασμῷ δουρός καὶ δουρί); Etym. Gudianum, delta, p. 377 (idem); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, delta 19 (δόρυ: ἀπὸ τοῦ δρῦς δρυός δόρυ, ἐπὶ παντὸς λεγόμενον <ξύλου> ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχαίων); Etym. Gudianum, delta, p. 375 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 283 (idem); Etym. Symeonis, delta 332 (idem); Schol. Od. 5.361b Pontani (δούρατ’] τὰ ὀρθὰ ξύλα. “δούρατα” λέγεται τὰ ξύλα τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς δρυός· ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ ἐκ τοῦ “δρῦς, δρυός” καὶ ἐκβολῇ τοῦ ος “δρῦ” καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ο “δόρυ”. καὶ γὰρ τὸ παλαιὸν τὰ δόρατα ἀπὸ τῶν δρυῶν κατεσκεύαζον διὰ τὸ στερεόν)

Modern etymology

Old inherited name of the tree, PIE *dór-u-, with cognates in most IE languages. Belongs with δρῦς, δρυμός, δένδρον. Etymologically a derivative of *der- "to flay" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has δόρυ in the meaning "spear"

Entry By

Le Feuvre