ἕλος + βαίνω
Word
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Word-form
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
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Ed.
Quotation
Ἐλέφας· ... ἐλέβας· ἐπιβαίνει γὰρ τῇ θηλείᾳ οὐκ ἐπὶ [τῆς] γῆς διὰ τὸν ὄγκον, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἑλώδους, ὅπου νέμονται, καὶ γίνεται εἰκότως κοῦφος.
Translation (En)
Elaphas "elephant": […] *elebas, for it covers (epibainei) the female, not on earth because of its weight, but in a watery swamp (helōdous), where they live, and it becomes naturally light
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 329 (Ἐλέφας: Τὸ ζῷον· Ἀμετροβίων ἐλεφάντων. Ἐλέβας τὶς ὤν· διὰ γὰρ τὸ βάρος ἐν ὕδατι ἑλώδει τὰς ἐπιβάσεις (τουτέστι τὰς μίξεις) ποιεῖται· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐλεφαίρω, τὸ βλάπτω· βλαπτικὸς γάρ. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐλίσσω γίνεται ἐλίφας καὶ ἐλέφας, ὁ ἐλιγμένην ἔχων ῥῖνα. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐν ἕλει ἐπιβαίνειν τῇ θηλείᾳ, ἐλέβας τὶς ὤν· ἐπιβαίνει γὰρ τῇ θηλείᾳ, οὐκ ἐπὶ γῆς διὰ τὸν ὄγκον, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἑλώδους ὅπου νέμονται· καὶ γίνεται εἰκότως κοῦφος. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ λευκὸς γίνεται λεύκας· καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ κ εἰς φ, λέφας· καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ε, ἐλέφας· πάνυ γὰρ ἐστὶ λευκὸν τὸ ὀστοῦν αὐτοῦ)
Comment
Compositional etymology, assuming the animal gets its name from its mating behavior. The compound is a structure where the first member is a locative and the second one the verb, without any explicit object. The model may be αἰγιβάτης "covering goats", epithet of male goats and of Pan, but in the latter the object is overtly expressed.