ἀ- + τείρω
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Quotation
ἦτορ· Φιλόξενος ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῆς Ἰάδος διαλέκτου οὕτως ἐτυμολογεῖ τὸ ἦτορ. ἆτόρ ἐστι, φησί, τὸ ὂν ἄτρεπτον· παρὰ γὰρ τὸν τείρω ἐνεστῶτα μέλλων γίνεται τερῶ, ὡς κείρω κερῶ· τοῦ δὲ ω σιγηθέντος ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα γίνεται τὲρ καὶ τὸρ μονοσύλλαβον, {καὶ} ὥσπερ <παρὰ> τὸ φέρω φὲρ καὶ φὸρ καὶ ἐπεκτάσει τοῦ ο εἰς ω φώρ, ὁ λῃστής, ὁ τὰ ἀλλότρια φέρων. τὲρ οὖν καὶ τὸρ καὶ μετὰ τοῦ στερητικοῦ α ἆτορ καὶ ἦτορ· ὥστε κυρίως ἐπὶ τῆς ἀφόβου ψυχῆς, καταχρηστικῶς δὲ ἐπὶ πάσης ψυχῆς.
Translation (En)
ētor "heart". Philoxenus, in his On the Ionic dialect, etymologizes the word ētor as follows. He says it is a *ator, that which is unshakable. For from the verb teirō "to wear out" (present), comes a future terô, as from keirō "to cut" kerô. The /ō/ being muted, a monosyllabic noun is produced, *ter, and *tor, as from pherō "to carry" *pher and *phor and by lengthening of the /o/, *phōr "thief", the one who carries away what belongs to others. So, *ter, and *tor, and with the privative a-, *ator, and ētor, so that it refers properly to the soul without fear, and by extension to any soul
Parallels
Etym. Genuinum (ἦτορ· ... ὁ δὲ Ὠρίων καὶ τοῦτο καὶ ἄλλως. ὥσπερ παρὰ τὸ φέρω γίνεται φόρ, καὶ ἐπεκτάσει τοῦ ο εἰς ω φώρ, ὁ λῃστὴς καὶ ὁ κλέπτης, ὁ τὰ ἀλλότρια φέρων, οὕτως καὶ παρὰ τὸν τείρω ἐνεστῶτα τὸν σημαίνοντα τὸ καταπονῶ ὁ μέλλων τερῶ, ὡς κείρω κερῶ, γέγονε ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα κατὰ ἀποβολὴν τοῦ ω τὲρ καὶ τὸρ μονοσύλλαβον· καὶ μετὰ τοῦ στερητικοῦ α ἆτορ καὶ τροπῇ ἦτορ· ὥστε κυρίως ἐπὶ τῆς ἀφόβου ψυχῆς καὶ μὴ ὑποδεχομένης τρῶσιν τετάχ); 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)
Comment
Compositional etymology. As usual, Philoxenus starts from a verb, but this time. not from a monosyllabic one. As usual, he starts from the future form. From this form he derives a ghost form *ter, which is then changed to *tor, a process for which he offers a parallel in the derivation of the word for "thief". The change of *ter to *tor relies on the regular alternation e ~ o. Then this *tor is assumed to be the second member of a privative compound, which implies a change of the privative /a/ to /ē/ (on which Philoxenus does not comment). The heart is therefore the "not exhausted". Since the meaning of ἦτορ is broader, Philoxenus assumes that the general use of ἦτορ for any heart relies on a semantic extension, by opposition to the proper use, which is conform to his etymology