ἀμφί + αἴρω
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
ἀμφορεύς
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
amphoreus
English translation (word)
amphora
Transliteration (Etymon)
amphi + airō
English translation (etymon)
on both sides + to lift
Century
9 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Etym. Genuinum, alpha 752
Ed.
F. Lasserre and N. Livadaras, Etymologicum magnum genuinum. Symeonis etymologicum una cum magna grammatica. Etymologicum magnum auctum, vol. 1, Rome: Ateneo, 1976
Quotation
Ἀμφορεύς· […] ἢ τὸ ἑκατέρωθεν αἰρόμενον ἀμφοαιρές, καὶ ἀμφορεύς κατὰ συγκοπὴν καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ υ
Translation (En)
Amphora (amphoreus): […] or that which is lifted (airomenon) from both sides (hekaterōthen), *amphoaires, and through syncope and addition of [u], amphoreus
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 93; Etym. Symeonis 1, p. 456; Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha p. 145
Modern etymology
Ἀμφορεύς comes from ἀμφιφορεύς, which is the Homeric form, with haplology at the compound boundary. The second element is derived from φέρω "to carry" (Beekes, EDG).
Persistence in Modern Greek
Αμφορέας is the Modern Greek form, used to designate the ancient Greek big vessel, usually made of clay, in which people stored oil, wine, honey etc. (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of Modern Greek).
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The first explanation mentioned in the Etym. Gudianum is Orion's (see ἀμφορεύς / ἀμφί + φέρω). This one is an alternative explanation, also a descriptive etymology, based on the same semantic interpretation but involving a different starting point. *Amphoaires is a ghost-word. Whereas the explanation ἀμφί + φέρω is compatible with the old Homeric form ἀμφιφορεύς, this one is not: that shows the ahistorical character of Greek etymology, which is purely synchronic