ἐρατός
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ἀρετή· αἱρετή τις οὖσα, ἣν αἱροῦνται πάντες· οὕτω Δίδυμος ἐν Ὑπομνήματι. ὁ δὲ Ἡρακλείδης κατὰ μετάθεσιν στοιχείων, ἐρατή τις οὖσα, ἡ ἐπέραστος κτῆσις· ὡς δὲ ἄλλοι, ἀρεστή, καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ σίγμα, ἀρετή, ἡ πᾶσιν ἀρέσκουσα
Translation (En)
Aretē "excellence": that which everyone chooses. this is what Didymus says in his Commentary. But Heraclides says it arose through metathesis of letters, as ‹excellence› is a lovely thing (eratē tis), a desirable good. And for others, it comes from arestē "pleasing", and through dropping of the [s], aretē, that which pleases (areskousa) everybody
Parallels
Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos p. 136 (τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ ἀρετή· τὸ δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ, τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ, ἐρατὴ, καὶ ἐν ὑπερβιβασμῷ ἀρετή); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, epsilon, p. 552 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 388 (idem); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 1142 (Ἀρετή· παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ, τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ, ἐρατή, καὶ κατὰ μετάθεσιν τῶν στοιχείων ἀρετή, ἡ ἐπέραστος κτῆσις, ἣν αἱροῦνται πάντες· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ ἀρέσω ἀρεστή καὶ ἀρετή, ἡ πᾶσιν ἀρέσκουσα. λέγεται καὶ ἀρετὴ ἡ κατὰ πόλεμον δύναμις, παρὰ τὸν ἄρην); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha, p. 190-191 (Ἀρετή· αἱρετ[ικ]ή τίς ἐστι, ἣν αἱροῦνται πάντες. οὕτως Δί⟦δυ⟧μος ἐν Ὑπομνήματι <p. 185, 7 Schmidt>. ὁ δὲ Ἡρακλείδης ἐν τῷ Περὶ ἐτυμολογιῶν φησι κατὰ μετάθεσιν, ἐρατή τις οὖσα, ἡ ἐπέραστος κτῆσις. ὡς δὲ ἐν Ὑπομνήματι εὗρον Θέωνος <p. 39 Giese>, ἀρεστή καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ ς ἀρετή, ἡ πᾶσιν ἀρέσκουσα. | Ἀρετή· ἀρέσκον θεῷ τι· ἢ αἱρετή· <ἢ ἐρατή>, ἤτοι ἐραστὴ καὶ φιλητή); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 138 (Ἀρετή: Παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ, ἐρατή· καὶ ἐρατὰ δῶρα, τὰ ἐπέραστα καὶ καλά· τουτέστιν, ἡ φιλητή· κατὰ μετάθεσιν τοῦ στοιχείου, ἀρετὴ, ἡ ἐπέραστος κτῆσις ἧς ἐρῶσιν ἢ ἣν αἱροῦνται πάντες· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ, ἀρέσω, ἀρεστὴ, καὶ ἀρετὴ, ἡ πᾶσιν ἀρέσκουσα. Λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἡ κατὰ πόλεμον δύναμις, παρὰ τὸν Ἄρην, τὸν πόλεμον. Λέγεται δὲ ἀρετὴ καὶ ἡ ἐν παντὶ πράγματι ὑπεροχή· παρὰ τὸ αἱρῶ, τὸ προαιροῦμαι); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha p. 297 (Ἀρετή. παρὰ τὸ ἐρῶ τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ ἐρατὴ, καὶ κατὰ μετάθεσιν τῶν στοιχείων ἀρετὴ, ἡ ἐπέραστος κτῆσις, ἣν ἐροῦνται πάντες. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ, ἀρέσκω, ἀρεστὴ καὶ ἀρετὴ, ἡ πάντας ἀρέσκουσα. λέγεται καὶ ἀρετὴ ἡ κατὰ πόλεμον δύναμις, παρὰ τὸ ἄρην, ὃ σημαίνει τὸν πόλεμον)
Comment
This etymology is often repeated in Antiquity, next to the explanation through ἀρέσκω "to please". Both rely on the same semantic implication, that excellence is loved and pleases men. Both start from a verbal adjective and use only one phonetic manipulation, here a metathesis, to account for the actual shape pf the word. The book On etymologies by Heraclides Ponticus the Younger was one of Orion's main sources.