θεός + ἕπομαι

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Last modification

Mon, 10/28/2024 - 14:05

Word-form

θεσπεσία

Transliteration (Word)

thespesios

English translation (word)

divine, wonderful

Transliteration (Etymon)

theos + hepomai

English translation (etymon)

god + to follow

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etymologicum, theta, p. 71

Ed.

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

Quotation

Θεσπεσία. οἷον θεοπεσία. παρὰ τὸ πεσεῖν, ἢ ἥδεσθαι καὶ ἐπακολουθεῖν θεοῖς

Translation (En)

Thespesia "divine will", *theopesia, as it were. From pesein "to fall", or from "to please" and "to accompany" (epakolouthein) the gods

Comment

The lemma is the derived noun θεσπεσία, but the etymology is valid for the base adjective θεσπέσιος. Two etymologies are provided, the first one by "to fall" (what is divine comes down from the gods), the second one by "to follow", ἕπομαι, here substituted by its synonym ἐπακολουθέω (elliptic etymology). What is divine and wonderful follows the gods who cause it

Parallels

Etym. Gudianum, theta, p. 260 (Θεσπέσιος, θεῖος, θαυμαστὸς, οἷον, θεοπρέπιος, ὁ ἀκολουθῶν καὶ ἕπων θεοῖς); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 447 (Θεσπέσιος: Παρὰ τὸ θεὸς καὶ τὸ πέτω, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ πίπτω, (οὗ ὁ μέλλων πέσω,) γίνεται πέσιος, καὶ θεοσπέσιος· καὶ συγκοπῇ, θεσπέσιος, ὁ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ πεσών. Ἢ θεῖος καὶ θαυμαστός. Παρὰ τὸ ἕπεσθαι θεῷ· καὶ θεσπεσία, θεία, θαυμαστὴ, οἱονεὶ θεοσπεσία· παρὰ τὸ σπέσθαι καὶ ἐπακολουθεῖν θεοῖς. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ πεσεῖν, θεοσπεσία τίς. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ θέσπις); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, theta, p. 1036 (Θεσπέσια. θεῖα. θαυμαστά. οἱονεὶ θεοπέσια τινὰ ὄντα, παρὰ τὸ πεσεῖν, ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἕπεσθαι τῷ θεῷ)

Modern etymology

Compound of θεός "god" + verbal adjective *σπετός "uttered" (cf. ἄσπετος "unspeakable"), from *sekw- "to speak" (ἔννεπε, ἕσπετε, Lat. inquit) (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has θεσπέσιος "extraordinarily beautiful" as a learned word

Entry By

Le Feuvre