βάλανος + αὔω1
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
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
Choeroboscus, De orthographia (epitome), p. 186 (βαλανεῖον δὲ λέγεται ἀπὸ τοῦ βαλάνου· καὶ γὰρ βαλάνους ἔθος εἶχον ὑποκαίειν); Suda, beta 64 (Βαλανειομφάλους: τὰς φιάλας οἱ κωμικοὶ καλοῦσι. Βαλανεῖον δὲ ἐκλήθη, διότι τὰς βαλάνους ἐσθίοντες τὰ κελύφη ἔκαιον); A Schol. Il. 7.22b Erbse (τὰ γὰρ ἔσω τῶν βαλάνων ἐσθίοντες τὰ ἔξω ἔκαιον πρὸς θέρμην· ὅθεν καὶ βαλανεῖα); Etym. Gudianum, beta, p. 258 (Βαλανεῖον· τὸ λουτρόν· παρὰ τὸ βαλάνοις παρὰ τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ὑποκαίεσθαι); ibid., p. 551 (Φηγῷ, δρυΐ· εἴρηται δὲ παρὰ τὸ φώγεσθαι, ὅ ἐστι καίεσθαι· τὰ γὰρ ἔσω τῶν βαλάνων ἐσθίοντες, τὰ ἔξω ἔκαιον πρὸς θέρμην, ὅθεν καὶ βαλανεῖα·); 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. 952b (recentiora) (“βαλανεῖον” τὸ μέρος τοῦ λουτροῦ ἐν ᾧ ἅπτεται τὸ πῦρ. εἴρηται δὲ “βαλανεῖον” διότι τὸ παλαιὸν “βαλάνους” ἔκαιον)
Comment
Compositional etymology. The assumed etymon is a OV compound "acorn-burning" of the type καρποφόρος. The bath is etymologized by reference to something that has no direct relationship with it, the fact that the water must be heated. However, it is not an easy step from "to burn wood" to "bath", and even less when the assumed etymon is not "to burn wood" but "to burn acorns" – the latter because of the obvious phonetic similarity with the lemma. There are several justifications for the acorns: some thought "acorn" was a metaphoric name for "oak" (this is not absurd since as a rule in Greek the tree and the fruit bear the same name, only the gender is different), others explain that those in the (Roman) baths used to eat acorns while they were there and got rid of the nut (the hard part) by burning it. The Genuinum attributes this etymology to Epaphroditus of Chaeronea, mentioning only half of it (that is, only the verb αὔω, while the first member of the compound is not mentioned). Choeroboscus' testimony indicates that the etymology was mentioned by Herodian, who, however, favored a different etymology (see βαλανεῖον / βαλανεύς)