ἠλεός
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
ἠλασκάζων
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
ēlaskō
English translation (word)
to wander
Transliteration (Etymon)
ēleos
English translation (etymon)
idle, vain
Source
A Scholia
Ref.
A Schol. Il. 18.281b
Ed.
H. Erbse, Scholia Graeca in Homeri Iliadem (scholia vetera), vols. 1-5, 7, Berlin: De Gruyter, 1:1969; 2:1971; 3:1974; 4:1975; 5:1977; 7:1988
Quotation
ἠλασκάζων: περὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τόπον ἀλώμενος καὶ οὐκ ἀνύων ὁδόν, ἄλλως τε μεθ’ ἑλιγμοῦ ἐλαύνων καὶ τὴν δίωξιν ποιούμενος. ἔγκειται δὲ καὶ τὸ ἠλεόν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ ματαίως ἐλαύνων
Translation (En)
ēlaskazōn "wandering": wandering in the same place and unable to find a way; alternatively, the one driving in circle and pursuing <the enemy>. The word includes also ēleos "vain", the one who drives in vain
Parallels
There is no parallel
Modern etymology
It is difficult to explain the /ē/ of ἠλάσκω out of ἀλάομαι, but this remains the least unlikely etymology, despite Beekes' doubts (EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
No
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The scholion transmits three implicit etymologies: 1. ἀλάομαι, 2. εἰλέω, 3. ἠλεός. The first two are attested elsewhere, the third one is not, and may be a guess by the scholiast. The ἔγκειται "is found in" probably means that ἠλεός is assumed to be a possible etymon of ἠλασκω (here under the form of the derivative ἠλασκάζω). The initial /ēl/ is identical, and wandering implies the idea of an aimless motion, therefore, of a vain one