ἀ- + ἔδω

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No

Last modification

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 12:20

Word-form

ἄνηστις

Transliteration (Word)

anēstis

English translation (word)

fasting

Transliteration (Etymon)

a- + edō

English translation (etymon)

not + to eat

Author

Etym. Genuinum

Century

9 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etym. Genuinum, alpha 863

Ed.

F. Lasserre and N. Livadaras, Etymologicum magnum genuinum. Symeonis etymologicum una cum magna grammatica. Etymologicum magnum auctum, vol. 2, Athens: Parnassos Literary Society, 1992

Quotation

Ἄνηστις· ὁ ἄσιτος· Κρατῖνος ἐν Διονυσαλεξάνδρῳ (fr. 47)· ‘φοιτᾷς ἐπὶ δεῖπνον ἄνηστις’· καὶ Αἰσχύλος ἐν Φινεῖ (fr. 258 a)· ‘ἄνηστις δ’ οὐκ ἀποστατεῖ γόος’· παρὰ τὸ ἔδω ἐστός, παρώνυμον ἔστις, ὡς πιστός πίστις, καὶ κατὰ σύνθεσιν ἄνεστις καὶ ἄνηστις, ἢ παρὰ τὸ νῆστις ἄνηστις, ὁ ἐστερημένος σιτίων. οὕτως Ἡρωδιανὸς Περὶ παθῶν (fr. novum)

Translation (En)

Anēstis: the fasting one. Cratinus in the Dionysalexandros (fr. 47), ‘phoitais epi deipnon anēstis’ ("you come to dinner starving"), and Aeschylus in the Phineusanēstis d' ouk apostateî goos’ ("the fasting lament is not leaving"). From edō "to eat", estos "eaten", derivative *estis "eating", as from pistos "reliable" pistis "faith", and by composition *anestis and anēstis. Or from nēstis "fasting" anēstis, the one deprived of food. This is what Herodian says in the Peri pathôn

Comment

Compositional etymology starting from a verbal noun *ἔστις and assuming a regular privative compound *ἄνεστις. The existing form ἄνηστις is then obtained by assuming a lengthening of the /e/. This explanation is correct in its principle, except that for modern linguists, the regular privative of ἔδω is νῆστις — which was not clear to Greek grammarians

Parallels

Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha, p. 145 (Ἄνηστις· ὁ ἄσιτος. παρὰ τὸ ἔδω ἐστός, παρώνυμον ἔστις, ὡς πιστός πίστις, καὶ κατὰ σύνθεσιν ἄνεστις καὶ ἄνηστις· <ἢ παρὰ τὸ νῆστις ἄνηστις>, τῆς στερήσεως μηδὲν πλέον σημαινούσης, ὡς ἐν τῷ ἄσταφις. καὶ εἰς τὸ Νῆστις); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 108 (Ἄνηστις: Παρὰ τὸ ἔδω ἐστὸς ἔστις, ὡς πιστὸς πίστις, καὶ κατὰ σύνθεσιν ἄνεστις, καὶ ἄνηστις, ὁ ἄσιτος. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ νῆστις, ἄνηστις, ὁ ἐστερημένος σιτίων, [ὁ] ἄγαν νῆστις)

Modern etymology

Ἄνηστις is a recharacterized form of νῆστις, with the regular form of the privative prefix ἀν- before a vowel, as ἀνώνυμος next to the older νώνυμνος

Persistence in Modern Greek

No

Entry By

Le Feuvre