ἐρατός

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Last modification

Tue, 08/20/2024 - 10:30

Word-form

ἑορτή

Transliteration (Word)

heortē

English translation (word)

feast, festival

Transliteration (Etymon)

eratos

English translation (etymon)

lovely

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etymologicum, epsilon, p. 66

Ed.

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

Quotation

Ἑορτή. ἐρ<ο>τὴ, ἐρατή τις οὖσα, καὶ μεταθέσει τοῦ ρ, ἑορτή· ἧς ἐρῶσι πάντες  (NG: Sturz prints ἐρωτὴ)

Translation (En)

Heortē "festival": *er<ο>tē, as it is lovely (eratē), so to speak, and by metathesis of /r/, heortē, the one everybody loves

Comment

Derivational etymology requiring two formal changes, first a change of /a/ to /o/ (*ἐροτή, for which Orion's ἐρωτή is a misspelling, probably because of the influence of ἔρως "love"), then a metahesis. Only the second change is explicit in Orion. The etymology is descriptive : joy is a characteristic feature of the lemma "festival", and was used to etymologize it. As there was no suitable word meaning "joyful", the near-synonym "lovely" was used

Parallels

Epimerismi homerici Il. 1.4a2 (ἐρῶ, τὸ καθαίρω, ἐξ οὗ τὸ ἐρατός καὶ ἐρατή καὶ ἑορτή); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi în Psalmos, p. 144 (χορτάζω, ἐκ τοῦ ἑορτὴ, τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ, ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἑὸν, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ἀγαθόν); Etym. Gudianum, epsilon, p. 493 ( Ἑορτή· παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ, τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ, ἐρωτή καὶ τροπῇ καὶ ὑπερβιβασμῷ ἑορτή· ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ <καὶ> παρὰ τὸ εἰς τὰ ἑά ὀρούειν, ὅ ἐστι τὰ ἀγαθά· ἐξ οὗ καὶ δασύνεται); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, epsilon, p. 493 (Ἐπιμερισμῶν τοῦ Ψαλτηρίου Ἑορτάζω <Ps. 41, 5>· ἐκ τοῦ ἑορτή· τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ, τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ); ibid., p. 494 (Ἑορτή· παρὰ τὸ ἐρᾶν αὐτῆς· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἔρωτι παρωνύμως ἐρωτή καὶ ἑορτή); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 351 (Ἑορτάζω: Ἐκ τοῦ ἑορτή. Τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ, τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ, ἐροτὴ, καὶ ἑορτὴ καθ’ ὑπερβιβασμὸν, ἧς ἐρῶσι πάντες. Ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ παρὰ τὸ εἰς τὰ ἑὰ ὀρούειν, ὅ ἐστιν εἰς τὰ ἀγαθὰ ὁρμᾶν· ὅθεν καὶ δασύνεται· οἱ μέντοι Ἴωνες ψιλοῦσιν); ibid., p. 369 ( Ἔστι καὶ ἐρῶ, τὸ καθαίρω· ἐξ οὗ καὶ ἔρα<τ>ος καὶ ἑορτή); Etym. Symeonis, epsilon 534 (Ἑορτή· παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ, τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ· γέγονεν ἑροτὴ καὶ ἑορτή, ἧς ἐρῶσι πάντες); 

Modern etymology

Unknown (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has εορτή as a learned word, the usual form is γιορτή (< ἑορτή)

Entry By

Le Feuvre