νῦν + φαίνω
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
νύμφας
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
nymphē
English translation (word)
nymph, bride
Transliteration (Etymon)
nun + phainō
English translation (etymon)
now + to show
Century
1 AD
Source
idem
Ref.
Theologiae graecae compendium 22.45-48
Ed.
J. B. Torres, Lucius Annaeus Cornutus: Compendium de Graecae Theologiae traditionibus [Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana. Berlin - Boston: De Gruyter, 2018]
Quotation
νύμφαι γάρ εἰσιν αἱ τῶν ποτίμων ὑδάτων πηγαί. ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀεὶ νέαι φαίνεσθαι ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ φαίνειν οὕτως ὠνομασμέναι. τὰς δὲ γαμουμένας νύμφας καλοῦσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν πρώτως φαίνεσθαι κρυπτομένας τέως
Translation (En)
The nymphs (numphai) are the sources of the sweet waters. They are thus named from the fact that they appear (phainesthai) ever young (neai), or that they bring to light <the water>, But the brides are called numphai because they unveil (phainesthai) now (nun) for the first time, while they were hidden before that
Parallels
Eustathius, Comm. Od., vol. 1, p. 242 (Κοῦραι δὲ κατὰ τὸν ποιητὴν αἱ ῥηθεῖσαι νύμφαι, διὰ τὸ ἀεὶ νεάζειν κατὰ φύσιν καὶ μὴ γηρᾶν. διὸ καὶ νύμφαι αἱ αὐταὶ καλοῦνται, διὰ τὸ ἀεὶ νέον. ἢ κατὰ τὸ νῦν φαίνεσθαι ὡς καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ ἐδηλώθη)
Modern etymology
Maybe cognate with Lat. nūbō "to marry" < *sneubh-. Or loanword Beekes (EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has νύμφη as a learned word, in the religious vocabulary and in the scientific vocabulary, referring to the last stage of the metamorphosis of an insect. The common form is νύφη "bride"
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Compositional etymology. Cornutus distinguishes two different etymologies for the two meanings of the word, "nymph" and "bride" (complementary etymology). For the meaning "bride", he etymologizes it by reference to the ritual of the ἀνακαλυπτήρια, when the bride was unveiled for the first time. The first member is assumed to be the adverb "now", because she "now appears". Notice that Eustathius, the only one mentioning this second etymology, does not explicitly link it with the meaning "bride" as opposed to "nymph", and simply says "or"