δασμός
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
δῆμος
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
dēmos
English translation (word)
people
Transliteration (Etymon)
dasmos
English translation (etymon)
division
Century
1 AD
Source
Herodian
Ref.
Peri pathōn, III/2, p. 324
Ed.
A. Lentz, Grammatici graeci III/2, Leipzig 1870
Quotation
ὁ Ἀσκαλωνίτης λέγει τὸ δῆμος τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ πλήθους παρὰ τὸ δέμας γεγενῆσθαι οἱονεὶ σῶμά τι τυγχάνον ἢ παρὰ τὸν δασμόν. δύναιτο δ’ ἄν τις καὶ ἄλλως ἐτυμολογεῖν, εἰ παρὰ τὸ δέω γένοιτο δέεμος καὶ ἐν συναλοιφῇ δῆμος, τὸ συνδεδεμένον πλῆθος. τὸ γὰρ ἐναντίον λύη ἀπὸ τῆς διαλύσεως
Translation (En)
Ptolemaeus of Ascalon says that dēmos meaning "people" comes from demas "body", as though it were some kind of body, or from dasmos "division". But one could also think of a different etymology, if from deō "to bind" came *deemos and through contraction dēmos, the crowd which is linked together; since the opposite, luē, is from dialusis "separation"
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, delta p. 353 (ἢ παρὰ τὸν δασμόν, τὸν μερισμόν)
Modern etymology
Δῆμος, older δᾶμος, Myc. da-mo, means originally "portion of land", which is preserved in the meaning "deme". The root is *deh2- "to divide" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
Yes
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The etymology relating δῆμος to δασμός "division" relies on the geographic meaning "deme" (portion of Attic territory). From the modern point of view, it is the correct etymology. Since, according to Herodian, Ptolemy of Ascalon provided two etymologies for δῆμος, namely "body" (δέμας) and "division" (δασμός), which can be correlated with the two meanings of δῆμος, the political one and the geographic one, we must understand that he meant them as complementary etymologies, each corresponding to one meaning of δῆμος: that is, δῆμος meaning "people" (political) is related to δέμας, and δῆμος meaning "deme" (geographic) to δασμός