ἐλαία

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Last modification

Mon, 02/19/2024 - 15:45

Word-form

ἔλαιον

Transliteration (Word)

elaion

English translation (word)

olive, olive oil

Transliteration (Etymon)

elaia

English translation (etymon)

olive tree

Author

Etym. Magnum

Century

12 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 326

Ed.

T. Gaisford, Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1848

Quotation

Ἔλαιον: Ὁ καρπός. Παρὰ τὸ λεῖον λέαιον, τὸ λεαῖνον τὸ σῶμα· καὶ ἐν ὑπερθέσει, ἔλαιον. Ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλαία τοῦ φυτοῦ παρωνύμως ἔλαιον, τὸ τρωγόμενον

Translation (En)

Elaion "olive". The fruit. From leios "smooth", *leaion, that which makes the body smooth. And with metathesis, elaion. Or from elaia, the olive tree, the paronym elaion, the edible fruit

Comment

Derivational etymology underlying the relationship between the name of the tree and that of its fruit, and logically deriving the latter from the former

Parallels

Etym. Symeonis, epsilon 269 (Ἔλαιον· ὁ καρπός· παρὰ τὸ λεῖον, τὸ λεαῖνον τὸ σῶμα, καὶ ἐν ὑπερθέσει ἔλαιον. Ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλαία τοῦ φυτοῦ δύναται παρωνύμως ἡ ἐλαία· ἢ παρὰ τὸ λεῖον, ἢ παρὰ τὸ λειῶ λέαινα καὶ ἐν ὑπερθέσει ἐλαία· ἢ τὸ λεαῖνον ἔλαιον τίκτουσα. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἕλος ἐν ἕλεσι γὰρ ὑγροῖς τὸ φυτόν· ἢ παρὰ τὴν ἀλέαν, ἤγουν τὴν θερμασίαν)

Modern etymology

Loanword. Borrowed in Latin as olīva, oleum. Arm. ewł "oil" goes back to the same source (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG has έλαιο as a learned word, the usual word is λάδι, from ἐλᾴδιον

Entry By

Le Feuvre