ἀ- + χρώς
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
Ὦχρος. χροῦς, χρὸς, ἄχροος. ἐστὶ δὲ ὁ κακόχρους ὑπέρθεσιν τοῦ ο, ἄοχρος. συναλοιφῇ τοῦ ο καὶ α εἰς ω, ὦχρος.
Translation (En)
ōkhros "paleness": khrous "of the skin", khros, akhroos. It means the one with a bad skin color (kakokhrous), by metathesis of /o/, *aokhros "colorless", and by contraction of /o/ and /a/ into /ō/, ōkhros
Parallels
Oriion, Etymologicum (excerpta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), p. 617 (ὦχρος, χροὰς, χροὸς ἄχροος· καὶ ὑπερθέσει τοῦ ο ἄοχρος· καὶ συναλοιφῆ τοῦ ο καὶ α, ὦχρος); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, omega 25 (ὠχρός (Γ 35): ἐκ τοῦ χρόα, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ σώματος· διὰ γὰρ τῆς ἐπιφανείας γίνεται ἡ ὠχρίασις. λοιπὸν ἐκ τοῦ χρόα γίνεται ἄχροος καὶ ὑπερβιβασμῷ ἄοχρος καὶ κατὰ συναίρεσιν τοῦ αο εἰς ω μέγα ὦχρος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 826 (Ὦχρος: Ἐκ τοῦ χρόα, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ σώματος· διὰ γὰρ τῆς ἐπιφανείας γίνεται ἡ ὠχρίασις. Λοιπὸν ἐκ τοῦ χρόα γίνεται ἄχροος· καὶ ὑπερβιβασμῷ ἄοχρος καὶ κατὰ συναίρεσιν ὦχρος); J. Tzetzes, Carmina Iliaca 2.367 (Χρωτὶ δ’ ἐρευθιόωντι καὶ ἄχροος ἔμπεσεν ὦχρος); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, omega, p. 1898 (Ὦχρος καὶ ὠχρὸς διαφέρει. ὦχρος λέγεται αὐτὴ ἡ ὠχρίωσις. [ὠχρὸς δὲ] ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ μετεσχηκὼς τῆς ὠριάσεως. ἔστιν ἄχροος, παρὰ τὸ χροῦς, χροὸς, εἶτα καθ’ ὑπερβιβασμὸν ἄωχρος, κατὰ κρᾶσιν ὦχρος βαρυτόνως)
Comment
Compositional etymology, rather elaborate. Paleness is the lack of blood and is therefore etymologized as *ἄχροος "lacking color". The etymon then undergoes an ad hoc metathesis to become *ἄοχρος, which then undergoes contraction. Greek grammarians seldom identify a privative compound in words that do not begin with ἀ-, or with the variant of the egatove prefix νη-, and this etymology is all the more remarkable. The etymology appears as that of the noun ὦχρος in Orion, and as that of the adjective ὠχρός "pale" in other sources. Obviously the Greek thoughts the etymology was valid for both