βάλλω + ἀνία
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English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
Βαλανεῖον· τινὲς μὲν λέγουσιν, ὅτι παρὰ τὸ ἀποβάλλειν τὰς ἀνίας, καὶ Ὅμηρος παρετυμολογῶν λέγει κ 361, 363· ‘λοῦε ἐκ τρίποδος μεγάλοιο, / ὄφρα μοι ἐκ κάματον θυμοφθόρον εἵλετο γύων’. οὐ λέγουσι δὲ καλῶς· εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἐκ τούτου, ὤφειλεν διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεσθαι, ἐπειδὴ τὸ ἀνία διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεται. ἀλλ’ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν <***> βαλανεῖον εἴρηται τὸ λουτρὸν παρὰ τὸ τὰς βαλάνους αὔειν, τουτέστι † τοὺς δρῦς· οὕτως γὰρ καλοῦνται † οἱ δρῦς καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ φυτά. Ἐπαφρόδιτος (fr. 9 Luenzner) δὲ παρὰ τὸ αὔω, τὸ σημαῖνον τὸ καίω ε 490· ‘ἵνα μή ποθεν ἄλλοθεν αὔοι’, γεγονέναι
Translation (En)
Balaneion "bath": some say it comes from "to throw away (apoballein) the sorrows (anias), and Homer says in a paretymology (Od. 10.361-363) ‘loue ek tripodos megaloio / […] ophra moi ek kamaton thumophthoron heileto guōn’ "shebathed me from the great tripod, […] until she took the heart-wasting weariness from my limbs." But they are wrong. For if it came from there, it should be spelt with an /I/, since ania is spelt with /I/. But it may be said <that> the bath is called balaneion from the fact that they burn (auein) acorns (balanous), that is, †the oak's <fruit> – for this is how they call oaks and some other plants –. And Epaphroditus says it comes from auō, which means "to burn": Od. 5.490 ‘in a mē potion allot hen auoi‘ "so not to get a light from somewhere else."
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, beta, p. 258 (⟦Βαλανεῖον· διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου. ἀπὸ τοῦ βαλανεύς. ‖ λέγουσι δέ τινες, ὅτι τὸ βαλανεῖον παρὰ τὸ ἀποβάλλειν τὰς ἀνίας εἴρηται, κακῶς δέ φασιν· εἰ γὰρ ἦν⟧ οὕτως, ἔδει διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεσθαι ὡς καὶ τὸ ἀνία. ἔστι δὲ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ‖ ἀπὸ τοῦ βαλ⟦άνου λέγεται· καὶ γὰρ βαλάνους εἶχον ἔθος⟧ ἐν αὐ⟦τῷ ὑ⟧ποκαί⟦ειν⟧); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 186 (Βαλανεῖον: Τὸ λουτρόν. Τινὲς δὲ λέγουσι παρὰ τὸ ἀποβάλλειν τὰς ἀνίας. Καὶ Ὅμηρος παρετυμολογεῖ λέγων, ‘Λοῦε δ’ ἐκ τρίποδος μεγάλοιο, […] / ὄφρά μοι ἐκ κάματον θυμοφθόρον εἵλετο γυίων’. Οὐ λέγουσι δὲ καλῶς. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἐκ τούτου, ὤφειλε γράφεσθαι διὰ τοῦ ι. Ἀλλ’ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἀπὸ τῶν βαλάνων εἴρηται· οἱ γὰρ ἀρχαῖοι βαλάνους εἶχον ἔθος ὑποκαίειν· παρὰ τὸ τὰς βαλάνους αὔειν, τουτέστι τὰς δρῦς· οὕτω γὰρ καλοῦνται οἱ δρῦς, καὶ ἄλλό τι φυτόν. Ἐπαφρόδιτος δὲ παρὰ τὸ αὔω, τὸ σημαῖνον τὸ καίω· ‘Ἵνα μή ποθεν ἄλλοθεν αὔοι’); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 388 (βαλανεῖον· τινὲς μὲν λέγουσιν ὅτι παρὰ τὸ ἀποβάλλειν τὰς ἀνίας, οὐ λέγουσι δὲ—5 γράφεσθαι. ἀλλ’ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι παρὰ τὸ τὰς βαλάνους αὔειν, τουτέστι τὰς δρῦς· οὕτως γὰρ καλοῦνται † οἱ δρῦς· <οἱ δὲ παλαιοὶ πᾶν ξύλον βάλανον ἐκάλουν μεταφορικῶς ἀπὸ τοῦ δρυός.> Ἐπαφρόδιτος (Fr. 9 Luenzner) δὲ παρὰ τὸ αὔω, τὸ σημαῖνον τὸ καίω); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, beta, p. 375 (Βαλανεῖον. τὸ λοῦτρον. τινὲς μὲν λέγουσι παρὰ τὸ ἀποβάλλειν τὰς ἀνίας· οὐ λέγουσι δὲ καλῶς· εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἐκ τούτου, ὤφειλε διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεσθαι. ἀλλ’ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι παρὰ τὸ τὰς βαλάνους ἄνειν, ὅ ἐστι τὰς δρῦς καίειν); Scholia in Aristophanem, Plut. 535b (scholia recentiora Tzetzae) (βαλανεῖον παρὰ τὸ ἐκβάλλειν φησὶ τὰς ἀνίας)
The etymology is already attested as an implicit etymology in Didymus Caecus (4th c. CE), Commentarii in Ecclestasten (3-4.12) Codex p. 85, ll. 5-6: οἷον τὸ | βαλανεῖον προηγουμένως ἔχει τὸ ἀποβαλεῖν τὰς ἀνίας τοῦ σώματος "for instance, the bath's main function is to chase away the bodily pains".
Comment
Compositional etymology, going back to Orion, but not preserved in the extant versions of Orion's Etymologicum. The etymology is in fact attested earlier than Orion, as an implicit etymology, in Didymus Caecus (see Parallels). This is a (nice) functional etymology: the function of the bath is to chase away the pain and sorrow. The compound is of the VO type, like ἑλκεχίτων, φερέοικος. Formally, the etymology is almost impeccable and requires only one formal change, from /I/ to /ei/ (both were pronounced /I/ in a iotacizing state of the language). It is likely it was mentioned by Herodian, who argues against it with the argument of the spelling (see βαλανεῖον / βαλανεύς), although it is not directly linked with Herodian in our sources