δαμάζω

Word

Validation

Yes

Word-form

γάμος

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ

Transliteration (Word)

gamos

English translation (word)

marriage

Transliteration (Etymon)

damazō

English translation (etymon)

to tame

Author

Epimerismi homerici

Century

9 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, gamma 15

Ed.

A.R. Dyck, Epimerismi Homerici: Pars altera. Lexicon αἱμωδεῖν [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 5.2] Berlin - New York: De Gruyter, 1995: 59-761.

Quotation

γάμος: παρὰ τὸ δαμῶ δάμος καὶ γάμος. ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ <καὶ> παρὰ τὸ δύο ἅμα εἶναι, κατὰ μετάθεσιν τοῦ δ εἰς γ.

Translation (En)

Gamos "marriage" is from damō "to tame", *damos, and gamos. There is also another etymology, from "being two together" (duo hama), through change of the [d] into [g].

Comment

This etymology relies on the Homeric use of δαμάζω for wedded women, and conversely "untamed" for virgins (παρθένος ἀδμής, Od. 6.109). It implies a formal manipulation, the alteration of the initial consonant, which was facilitated by the contiguity of [g] and [d] in alphabetic order. See s.v. δάμαρ.

Parallels

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, upsilon 35 (s.v. ὑγρός: καὶ γάμος ἀπὸ τοῦ δάμος, ὁ δαμαστικὸς τῶν θηλείων, ὅθεν τὰς παρθένους ἀδαμάστους λέγουσιν); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, gamma p. 297 (Γάμος· ⟦οἷον⟧ δάμος τις· ⟦ὁ δαμαστι⟧κὸς καὶ ⟦ὑποτακτικὸς⟧ τῶν θηλειῶν, ὅθεν καὶ τ⟧ὰς παρθένους ⟦ἀδαμάστους⟧ λέγουσιν); Etym. Symeonis, gamma 23 (Γάμος· παρὰ τὸ δαμῶ τὸ δαμάζω γίνεται δάμος καὶ γάμος, ὁ δαμαστικὸς καὶ ὑποτακτικὸς τῶν θηλείων· ὅθεν καὶ Ὅμηρος ἀδαμάστους λέγει τὰς παρθένους· παρθένος ἀδμής· οἱ δὲ παρὰ τὸ γεννᾶν γάμος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 220 (Γάμος: Παρὰ τὸ δαμῶ, τὸ δαμάζω, γίνεται δάμος, καὶ γάμος, ὁ δαμαστικὸς τῶν θηλειῶν. Ὅθεν καὶ τὰς παρθένους ἀδαμάστους λέγει Ὅμηρος· οἷον, "παρθένος ἀδμής". Οἱ δὲ, παρὰ τὸ γεννᾶν, γάμος. Ἐτυμολογοῦσι δὲ  καὶ παρὰ τὸ δύο ἅμα εἶναι, κατὰ μετάθεσιν τοῦ εἰς γ); Scholia in Oppianum, Halieutica, 1, 5 (γάμος παρὰ τὸ δαμῶ τὸ δαμάζω δάμος καὶ γάμος, ὁ δαμαστικὸς τῶν θηλειῶν, ὅθεν καὶ Ὅμηρος τὰς παρθένους ἀδαμάστους καλεῖ); ibid. 1, 570; Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, gamma p. 416 (Γάμος. παρὰ τὸ δαμῶ, τὸ δαμάζω, γίνεται δαμὸς καὶ γάμος. ὅθεν καὶ Ὅμηρος ἀδαμάστους λέγει τὰς παρθένους).

This etymology may be older, and may be hinted at in the Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi 117-118 (αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δμήθη γάμῳ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα || Καλλιστὼ κατέπεφνεν ἀπ’ ἀργυρέοιο βιοῖο)

Modern etymology

The group of γάμος, γαμέω has no cognate outside Greek (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Γάμος is still used in MG to designate the 'legal unification between a man and a woman, approved by the church/state'. It also denotes the ceremony itself (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of Modern Greek).

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