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Ancient and Medieval Greek Etymologies

βλάπτω

Word

βλάπτω

Validation

Yes

Last modification

Fri, 07/30/2021 - 11:26

Word-form

βλάπτον

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ-1 .

LSJ-2

Transliteration (Word)

blaptō

English translation (word)

to damage

Transliteration (Etymon)

boulomai + haptein

English translation (etymon)

to want + to fasten

Author

Plato

Century

4 BC

Source

Idem

Ref.

Cratylus 417e1-2

Ed.

Burnet, Platonis Opera, Oxford UP, 1903

Quotation

τὸ δὲ "βλάπτον" αὖ σημαίνει βουλόμενον ἅπτειν

Translation (En)

but blapton “that which damages" means “wishing to fasten” (boulomenon haptein) (transl. Fowler)

Comment

The word is parsed as a combination of two verbs, implying a severe phonetic reduction of the initial element βούλομαι.

Parallels

There may be an echo of this etymology in Aristotle, Prob. 961b2 (ἐὰν οὖν  οὕτως ἔχοντος ἅψηται τῆς ἀκοῆς ὡς σκαλεύειν, μάλιστ’ ἂν  βλάψειεν·), and in Didymus Caecus, Commentarii in Zacchariam 1, 147 (Σημαίνει ἐν τῷ προκειμένῳ π[ρ]οφητικῷ τὸ βλάψαι διὰ τοῦ ἅψασθαι).

Modern etymology

Βλάπτω, Cretan ἀβλοπές· ἀβλαβές (Hsch.) must be cognate with Sanscrite marká- "damage", mṛc- "id.", Avestan mǝrǝṇcaite "he destroys". Indo-European root *ml(e)kw- (Beekes, EDG).

Persistence in Modern Greek

Βλάπτω is still used in Modern Greek with the meanings 1. 'to harm / to have negative affects', 2. to be unjust (Τriandafyllidis, Dictionary of Modern Greek).