ὄνομαι

Validation

No

Last modification

Wed, 08/14/2024 - 11:25

Word-form

νότος

Transliteration (Word)

notos

English translation (word)

South wind

Transliteration (Etymon)

onomai

English translation (etymon)

to blame

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etymologicum, nu, p. 107

Ed.

F. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig, Weigel, 1820

Quotation

Νότος. παρὰ τὸ νόθους ποιεῖν τοὺς καρποὺς καὶ χείρους· οἷον ὀνοτοὺς ποιεῖν αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἀφανίζειν.

Translation (En)

Notos "South wind". From the fact it corrupts the crops and hands, as it makes them blameful (onotous) and destroys them

Comment

Derivational etymology. It starts from the verbal adjective ὀνοτός, a variant of ὀνοστός "blamed". As a matter of fact, Greek etymologists assume that ὄνομαι, next to its regular meaning "to blame", also has a meaning "to damage", and the etymology of νότος is derived from this latter meaning. The South wind is etymologically the "wet" wind, it brings rain and moisture, which is bad for crops, hence the etymology "the damaging" wind. The copyist of the Gudianum says he found this etymology in a Commentary on the Iliad, which is probably Orion's source.

Parallels

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, nu 15 (νότος (Β 395): παρὰ τὸ ὀνῶ, τὸ βλάπτω, ὁ μέλλων ⸤ὀνόσω· ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὀνότος καὶ κατὰ ἀφαίρεσιν τοῦ ο νότος⸥, οἱονεὶ ὁ βλαπτικὸς τῶν καρπῶν ⸤καὶ τῶν σωμάτων⸥.); Etym. Gudianum, nu, p. 412 (idem); Scholia in Sophoclem, Aj. 258c (vetera) (idem); Suda, nu 509 (Νότος: ὁ ἄνεμος. καὶ Νοτόθεν, ἀπὸ Νότου. καὶ Νότον καύσωνα. ἐτυμολογία νότου παρὰ τὸ ὀνῶ, ὀνόσω, τὸ μέμφομαι καὶ βλάπτω· ἢ παρὰ τὴν νοτίδα, ὅ ἐστιν ὑγρασίαν. ἀστειότερον δὲ ἐπέβαλεν ὁ εἰπὼν αὐτὸν Ἀττικὴν εἶναι νόσον, ὡς πρὸς σύγκρισιν τοῦ Βορρᾶ, εὐθέτου ὄντος πρὸς ὑγίειαν); Etym. Gudianum, nu, p. 412 (Νότος, ὄν<ο>τός τις ὢν κατ’ ἀποβολὴν τοῦ ο. οὕτως εὗρον ἐν ὑπομνήματι Ἰλιάδος· ὀνῶ δὲ τὸ βλάπτω); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 607 (Νότος: Ὁ ἄνεμος. Παρὰ τὸ ὀνῶ, τὸ βλάπτω, ὁ μέλλων, ὀνόσω, ὄνοτος, καὶ νότος, ἀφαιρέσει τοῦ ο, οἱονεὶ ὁ βλαπτικὸς τῶν καρπῶν καὶ τῶν σωμάτων. Ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ νοτεῖν καὶ τῆς νοτίδος· αὕτη δὲ ἡ νοτὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ νεῖσθαι, ὅ ἐστι διέρχεσθαι καὶ πορεύεσθαι. Σημαίνει δὲ τὴν ὑγρασίαν)

Modern etymology

Probably cognate with Arm. nay "wet, fluid" < *noto- (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

No

Entry By

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