ἄλγος

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Last modification

Sat, 04/13/2024 - 11:55

Word-form

ἀλγεινός

Transliteration (Word)

algeinos

English translation (word)

painful

Transliteration (Etymon)

algos

English translation (etymon)

pain

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

Etym. Genuinum

Ref.

Etym. Genuinum, alpha 437

Ed.

F. Lasserre and N. Livadaras, Etymologicum magnum genuinum. Symeonis etymologicum una cum magna grammatica. Etymologicum magnum auctum, vol. 1, Athens: Parnassos Literary Society, 1976

Quotation

(Etym. Gen.) Ἀλεγεινός (Ν 596)· παρὰ τὸ ἄλγος ἀλγεινός, καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ε ἀλεγεινός. οὕτως Ὠρίων

Translation (En)

Alegeinos "painful": from algos "pain", algeinos, and by addition of /e/, alegeinos. Thus Orion

Comment

Derivational etymology correctly deriving ἀλγεινός from ἄλγος, and assuming the addition of a vowel in ordre to account for the Homeric form ἀλεγεινός

Parallels

Etym. Genuinum, alpha 417 (Ἀλεγεινός (Ν 569) καὶ ἀλεγεινῆς (Δ 99 ...)· ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀλγεινῆς, χαλεπῆς· οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀλέγω ἀλεγεινός οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλέω ἐλεεινός, ἐπεὶ ὤφελον γράφεσθαι διὰ τοῦ ι, τὰ γὰρ εἰς νος ὀξύτονα μὴ ὄντα παρώνυμα διὰ τοῦ ι γράφονται, τάχα ταχινός, ἀληθές ἀληθινός, χθές χθεσινός, πύκα πυκινός, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγος ἀλγεινός καὶ ἔλεος ἐλεεινός διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου ὡς παρώνυμα); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, alpha 321 (ἀλεγεινός: ἐπώδυνος. ὁ ποιητὴς ‘ἔνθα μάλιστα | γίνετ’ Ἄρης ἀλεγεινός’ (Ν 568-69). παρὰ τὸ ἀλέγειν, τὸ φροντίζειν, οὗ παράγωγον τὸ ἀλεγίζω. ἢ μᾶλλον παρώνυμον· ἄλγος ἀλγεινός. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀλέγω ἄλεγος· τὰ γὰρ λυπηρὰ πάντα φροντίδος ἄξια· ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλεγος οὖν ἀλεγεινός, ὁ ἀλγεῖν ποιῶν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 58 (Ἀλεγεινῆς: Ἀλγεινῆς, χαλεπῆς. Οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀλέγω ἀλεγεινὸς, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλεῶ ἐλεεινός· ἐπειδὴ ὤφειλε γράφεσθαι διὰ τοῦ ι· τὰ γὰρ εἰς ΝΟΣ ὀξύτονα, μὴ ὄντα παρώνυμα, διὰ τοῦ ἰῶτα γράφονται· οἷον τάχα ταχινὸς, πύκα πυκινὸς, ἀληθὲς ἀληθινὸς, χθὲς χθεσινός· ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγος ἀλγεινὸς, καὶ ἀλεγεινός· καὶ ἔλεος, ἐλεεινὸς, πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ε. Καὶ γράφεται διὰ διφθόγγου, ὡς παρώνυμον); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 264 (ἀλεγεινός (Ν 569)· οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀλέγω ἀλεγεινός οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλεῶ ἐλεεινός, ἐπεὶ ὤφειλε διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεσθαι, οἷον τάχα ταχινός, ἀληθές ἀληθινός, χθές χθεσινός, πύκα πυκινός, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγος ἀλγεινός καὶ ἔλεος ἐλεεινός ὡς παρώνυμα καὶ γράφεται διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 130 (τὸ δὲ ἀλέγω παρὰ τὸ λέγω, τὸ φροντίζω,] ἀφ’ οὗ λόγος ἡ φροντὶς, καὶ ἀλέγω, ἀλεγεινὸς, οὐ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλεῶ, ἐλεεινὸς, ἐπεὶ ὤφειλε γράφεσθαι διὰ τοῦ ι. τὰ γὰρ εἰς νος ὀξύτονα, μὴ ὄντα παρώνυμα,  διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεται· οἷον τάχα ταχινὸς, ἀλήθεια ἀληθινὸς, χθὲς χθεσινὸς, πύκα πυκινὸς, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγος ἀλγεινὸς καὶ ἔλεος ἐλεεινὸς, καὶ γράφεται διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου ὡς παρώνυμον); Scholia in Sophoclem, Aj. 494e (recentiora) (ἀλγεινὸν οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀλέγω ἀλεγεινὸς οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλέω ἐλεεινός, ἐπεὶ ὤφειλε γράφεσθαι <διὰ τοῦ ι>, ὡς τάχα ταχινὸς καὶ πύκα πυκινός, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγος ἀλγεινὸς καὶ ἔλεος ἐλεεινὸς ὡς παρώνυμα διὰ δίφθογγον)

Bibliography

On the detail of the semantic and formal evolution of ἀλέγω, ἄλγος, -ηλεγής in Greek, see Claire Le Feuvre, Ὅμηρος δύσγνωστος. Réinterprétations de termes homériques à date archaïque et classique. Geneva, Droz, 2015. Pp. 203–254 [however, the Germanic comparanda mentioned are probably not related]. Ἀλεγεινός is derived from an old noun *ἄλεγος, preserved in compounds in -ηλεγής (Homer). This *ἄλεγος "pain" matches the verb ἀλέγω which originally means "to suffer". Later one, but in pre-Homeric times, *ἄλεγος was remodeled into ἄλγος, and consequently, its derivative ἀλεγεινός was remodeled into ἀλγεινός. The verb "to suffer" was replaced by the new verb ἀλγέω, derived from ἄλγος, and the old ἀλέγω, left alone, was specialized in the negative phrase οὐκ ἀλέγω "I don't care" (originally "I don't suffer, it does not hurt"), with a secondary evolved meaning.

Modern etymology

See above, Bibliography

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has αλγεινός as a learned word

Entry By

Le Feuvre