ἔαρ1
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
ἔριον
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
erion
English translation (word)
wool
Transliteration (Etymon)
ear
English translation (etymon)
spring
Century
1 AD
Source
Etym. Gudianum
Ref.
Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, epsilon, p. 524
Ed.
E.L. de Stefani, Etymologicum Gudianum, fasc. 1 & 2, Leipzig: Teubner, 1:1909; 2:1920 (repr. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1965)
Quotation
Σελεύκου Ἔριον· ὅτι τῷ ἔαρι κείρονται τὰ πρόβατα.
Translation (En)
(Seleucus) Erion "wool", because the sheep is shorn in springtime (eari)
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 374 (Ἔριον: Καὶ εἶρος, ὁ πόκος· παρὰ τὸ ἔρρω, τὸ μοχθῶ καὶ φθείρω· περὶ ὃ ἐταλαιπώρουν ἐργαζόμεναι αὐτό· ἢ ὅτι τῷ ἔαρι κείρεται τὰ πρόβατα); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, epsilon, p. 869 (Ἔριον. τὸ μαλλίον. καὶ εἶρος ὁ πόκος. [[…] παρὰ τὸ ἔῤῥω, τὸ φθείρω, περὶ ὃ ταλαιπωροῦσιν αἱ ἐργαζόμεναι.] ἢ ὅτι ἔαρι κείρεται τὰ πρόβατα])
Modern etymology
The older form is εἶρος < *werwes-, cognate with Lat. vervex "wether" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has έριο as a learned word, referring to wool as matter. The usual word is μαλλί
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Derivational etymology. Starting from the dative (complement of time) ἔαρι, the simple dropping of the /a/ provides the sequence /eri/. Starting from an inflected form and integrating the ending in the etymology was commonplace. Semantically, the etymology is based on a metonymy (the material is derived from the time of its production)