Compositional etymology, provided right after the derivational one deriving σοφία from σοφός and the latter from σέβομαι. This etymology was not meant for σοφός but only for σοφία. The third etymology (σοφός / σῶς + φημί) is meant for σοφός. The intervening etymology of σοφία parses the word as a VO compound σῴ(ζω) φ(ῶς), in which only the first syllable (or the first consonant) of each member is preserved – this is customary. It is a functional etymology: the function of wisdom is to preserve the appearance (light) of the proper nature of each thing. The etymology dates back to a time when vocalic quantity was no longer distinctive, since the lemma σοφός has a /ŏ/ whereas the etymon has a /ō/