μολεῖν

Word

Validation

No

Last modification

Sat, 12/30/2023 - 21:25

Word-form

βλώσκω

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ

Transliteration (Word)

blōskō

English translation (word)

to walk

Transliteration (Etymon)

moleîn

English translation (etymon)

to walk

Author

Heraclides

Century

2 AD

Source

Eustathius of Thessalonica

Ref.

Comm. Il., vol. 3, p. 862

Ed.

M. van der Valk, Eustathii archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem pertinentes, vols. 1-4, Leiden: Brill, 1:1971; 2:1976; 3:1979; 4:1987

Quotation

ὡς γάρ φησιν Ἡρακλείδης, καθὰ τελῶ τελίσκω Ἰακῶς καὶ θορῶ θορίσκω καὶ μολῶ μολίσκω, ἐξ ὧν τὸ θρώσκω, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὸ βλώσκω, οὕτω καὶ ἐκ τοῦ νοῶ γίνεται νοΐσκω καὶ κατὰ συναίρεσιν νώσκω καὶ προσθέσει τοῦ γ Αἰολικῶς γνώσκω

Translation (En)

As Heraclides says, just as telô "to accomplish" yields teliskō in Ionic, and thorô "to spring" *thoriskō, and molô "to walk" *moliskō, from which come thrōskō, and also blōskō, so from noô "to think", too, comes *noiskō, and with contraction *nōskō and with addition of /g/ at the beginning in the Aeolic fashion, *gnōskō

Comment

Derivation in what is in synchrony an irregular verb. Ἔμολον is the aorist of βλώσκω, and a synchronic derivation pattern was invented to account for the transformation. It involves a ghost present *μολίσκω, and then some further changes (metathesis, lengthening, syncope) yield βλώσκω. Eustathius provides a parallel (the one of ἔθορον θρώσκω is correct since it is the same problem), and uses those two cases in order to account for the alleges relationship between νοέω γιγνώσκω, which are not related

Parallels

Orion, Etymologicum, beta, p. 37 (Βλώσκω, μολῶ ἐστὶν, ἀφ’ οὗ μολίσκω, καὶ μεταθέσει τοῦ μ εἰς β, καὶ συγκοπῇ, βλώσκω); Etym. Genuinum, beta 153 (Βλώσκω· σημαίνει δὲ τὸ αὐξάνω. παρὰ τὸ μολῶ γίνεται παράγωγον μολίσκω, ὡς γελῶ γελίσκω καὶ γαμῶ γαμίσκω· καὶ μεταθέσει τοῦ μ εἰς τὸ β βολίσκω καὶ ἐν ὑπερθέσει βλοΐσκω καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν καὶ ἐκτάσει τοῦ ο εἰς ω βλώσκω); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, beta, p. 395 (idem); Etym. Gudianum, beta, p. 275 (Βλώσκω· τὸ αὐξάνω· παρὰ τὸ μολῶ μολίσκω, βλώσκω); Eustathius, Comm. Od., vol. 2, p. 25 (λέγει γὰρ ἐκεῖνος [Heraclides] ὅτι, ὥσπερ τελῶ τελίσκω Ἰωνικῶς διὰ τοῦ κ παραληγομένου τῷ σ καὶ τῷ ι, ὁμοίως καὶ θορῶ θορίσκω καὶ μολῶ μολίσκω, οὕτω καὶ νοῶ νοΐσκω· ἐκ τούτων δὲ κατὰ κρᾶσιν θρώσκω βλώσκω νώσκω καὶ Αἰολικῶς γνώσκω); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 201 (Βλώσκω: Σημαίνει τὸ αὐξάνω. Ἀπὸ τοῦ μολῶ γίνεται παράγωγον μολίσκω· καὶ ὡς τελῶ, τελίσκω· καὶ γαμῶ, γαμίσκω· καὶ μεταθέσει, βολίσκω· καὶ ὑπερθέσει, βλοΐσκω· καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν καὶ ἔκτασιν τοῦ ο εἰς ω, βλώσκω)

Modern etymology

PIE *melh3-, with a remote cognate in South Slavic (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

No

Entry By

Le Feuvre
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