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Ancient and Medieval Greek Etymologies

νότος

Word

νότος

Validation

No

Last modification

Wed, 08/14/2024 - 11:05

Word-form

νότον

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ

Transliteration (Word)

notos

English translation (word)

south wind

Transliteration (Etymon)

neatos

English translation (etymon)

lowest

Author

Plutarch

Century

1-2 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Platonicae quaestiones 1008a

Ed.

G. Bernadakis, Plutarch. Moralia, vol. 6. Leipzig. Teubner. 1895

Quotation

ἡ γὰρ κάτω νεάτη προσαγορεύεται τάξις, ὡς δηλοῦσιν αἱ τῶν νεκρῶν κλήσεις ‘νερτέρων’ καὶ ‘ἐνέρων’ προσαγορευομένων· ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀνέμων φασὶ τὸν κάτωθεν ἐκ τοῦ ἀφανοῦς πνέοντα νότον ὠνομάσθαι

Translation (En)

And the lowest place they call neatē, as the names of the dead, nerteroi and eneroi, do show. And some say, that the south wind, inasmuch as it blows from a low and obscure place, is called notos. (Goodwin)

Comment

Derivational etymology. From the formal point of view, the etymology keeps the consonants of the etymon and changes the vowels (this is implicit in Plutarch). Semantically, it is far from clear: for a Greek, the south wind comes from the sea, which can hardly be called a "low and obscure place"—unless this phrase refers to Oceanus?