ἄημι
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ἦτορ. κατὰ ἀποβολὴν τοῦ α. φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἀήτ<ο> παρὰ τὸ ἄω τὸ πνέω. καὶ ἐστὶ πνεῦμα ἡ ψυχή. ἀήτορ οὖν ἐστὶ καὶ ἦτορ. [NB: Sturz prints φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἀήτη; the text of Il. 21.386 is δίχα δέ ϲφιν ἐνὶ φρεϲὶ θυμὸϲ ἄητο]
Translation (En)
ētor "heart", by dropping of the /a/. ‘their heart was blowing in their minds’. From aō "to blow", and the soul is a breathing. Thus, it is *aētor, and ētor
Parallels
Eustathius, Comm. Il., vol. 1, p. 126 (Ἦτορ δὲ κατὰ τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἡ ψυχὴ παρὰ τὸ ἄω τὸ πνέω· πνεῦμα γὰρ νοερὸν ἡ ψυχή); ibid., vol. 2, p. 816 (Ἀϋτμή δὲ ἁπλῶς μὲν ἡ πνοή, ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὸ ψυχικὸν πνεῦμα, ἐκ τοῦ ἄω, ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ τὸ ἦτορ); ibid., vol. 4, p. 162 (τὸ δὲ παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ ἦτρον, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἄω, τὸ πνέω, καθὰ καὶ τὸ ἦτορ γίνεται, ὡς καίριον ὂν τοῖς ζῶσιν, ἔγνωσται ἤδη καὶ αὐτό); ibid., vol. 4, p. 249 (ἦτορ γὰρ καὶ κατὰ μετάθεσιν ἦτρο καὶ προσλήψει τοῦ νῦ ἦτρον, ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄω, τὸ πνέω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἦτορ τὸ ἐπὶ ψυχῆς, ἵνα ᾖ ἦτρον τὸ συντελοῦν εἰς τὸ ἄειν, ὅ ἐστι πνεῖν καὶ ζῆν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 439 (Ἦτορ: ‘Χάλκεον ἦτορ’. Ἡ ψυχή. Ὥσπερ παρὰ τὸ φέρω γίνεται φὸρ, καὶ κατ’ ἔκτασιν φὼρ, ὁ λῃστὴς καὶ κλέπτης, ὁ τὰ ἀλλότρια φέρων, οὕτως καὶ παρὰ τὸ τείρω, τὸ καταπονῶ, ὁ μέλλων τερῶ, γίνεται ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα τὲρ καὶ τὸρ μονοσύλλαβον· καὶ μετὰ τοῦ στερητικοῦ α, ἄτορ· καὶ τροπῇ ἦτορ, ἡ ἀθάνατος καὶ ἀκαταπόνητος· ὥστε κυρίως ἐπ’ ἀφόβου ψυχῆς μὴ ὑποδεχομένης τρῶσιν τετάχθαι. Ἢ ἐκ τοῦ τείρω γίνεται ἀτειρῶ, καὶ ἄτορ, καὶ ἦτορ, τὸ ἀτειρὲς πνεῦμα, ὃ ἐστὶν ἀπαθὲς, ἢ μᾶλλον πολυτειρές· ἐν σώματι γὰρ οὖσα, πολυπαθής ἐστιν. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄω, τὸ πνέω· καὶ γὰρ πνεῦμα ἡ ψυχή· οἷον, ‘δίχα δέ σφιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἄητο’. Ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀήτης, ὃ σημαίνει τὸν ἄνεμον, γίνεται ἀῆτορ· καὶ κατὰ ἀφαίρεσιν τοῦ α, ἦτορ· πνεῦμα γὰρ λέγεται ἡ ψυχὴ, ὡς ἐν τοῖς θείοις Εὐαγγελίοις, Πνεῦμα ὁ θεός· καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτὸν ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν. Τουτέστιν, ἀσώματόν ἐστι τὸ θεῖον, καὶ τοιαύτην θέλει καὶ τὴν θυσίαν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν ἀσωμάτου προσφέρεσθαι, τουτέστι διὰ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τῆς τοῦ νοῦ καθαρότητος); Joannes Tzetzes, Exegesis in Homeri Iliadem 1.188 (ἦτορ· ψυχή· παρὰ τὸ ἄω τὸ πνέω καὶ ἀῶ περισπωμένως· ἀήτορ καὶ ἦτορ); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, eta, p. 1011 (Ἦτορ. ἡ ψυχή. παρὰ τὸ ἄω, τὸ πνέω. οἷον· ’—δίχα δέ σφισιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἄητο’. ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄητο γίνεται ἀῆτο καὶ κατὰ ἀφαίρεσιν ἦτορ); Schol. Od. 1.213c1 Pontani (πεπνυμένος: πινυτός, ὁ φρόνιμος. πνέω ἐστὶ ῥῆμα καὶ πνύω παράγωγον καὶ πνυτὸς καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ι πινυτός. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸ ἦτορ παρὰ τὸ ἄω τὸ πνέω ἀῆτορ καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ α ἦτορ); Schol. Od. 2.28f Pontani (ἦτορ] ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄω τὸ πνέω); Scholia in Oppianum, Hal. 1.70 (ἦτορ· ἡ ψυχή· ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄω ἀήτορ ἦτορ. ἦτορ, παρὰ τὸ ἄω τὸ πνέω· καὶ γὰρ πνεῦμα ἡ ψυχὴ, οἷον (Il. 21.386)· ‘δίχα δέ σφιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἄητο’. ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄη γίνεται ἀήτορ καὶ ἀφαιρέσει τοῦ α ἦτορ); ibid., Hal. 2.40 (ἦτορ· ψυχήν· ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄω τὸ πνέω); Scholia in Pindarum, O 1.6 (recentiora) (Διαφέρει ἦτορ καὶ κῆρ· ἦτορ μὲν κατὰ τοὺς δόξαντας τὴν ψυχὴν διαῤῥέουσαν καὶ φθινομένην ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄω τὸ πνέω· οὕτω γὰρ ἐδόξαζον πνεῦμα ταύτην εἶναι· κῆρ δὲ παρὰ τὸ καίω· κατὰ ἑτέρους γὰρ τὸ ζωτικὸν καὶ θερμὸν αἷμα ψυχή); Scholia in Pindarum, O 1.6 (vetera et recentiora) (Ἦτορ ἡ ψυχή, παρὰ τὸ ἄω, τὸ πνέω· καὶ γὰρ πνεῦμα λέγεται ἡ ψυχή)
Comment
Derivational etymology. The word is assumed to be an agent noun, built with the suffix -τωρ, -τορος. Although the latter is not used to form neuter nouns, the formal similarity was enough. The heart is then the "breathing" one. This implies a formal manipulation, the loss of the initial /a/, explicit in Orion's definition. What is not explicit is that this etymology relies on a semantic approximation, since ἄημι never means "to breathe", but only "to blow". But since ἄημι is glossed by πνέω, which means both "to blow" and "to breathe", the meaning of the gloss is used for the etymology of the heart as "breathing", although it is not the meaning of the assumed etymon. Ps.-Zonaras has a different explanation and starts from the Homeric line quoted by Orion, Il. 21.386, assuming that the starting point is the imperfect 3sg ἄητο.