εἴργω
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
ἕρκος
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
herkos
English translation (word)
fence, enclosure, wall for defence
Transliteration (Etymon)
eirgō
English translation (etymon)
to confine
Century
12 AD
Source
idem
Ref.
Comm. Il.,vol. 2, p. 30
Ed.
M. van der Valk, Eustathii archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem pertinentes, Leiden, 1971-1987
Quotation
Εἶεν δ’ ἂν ἕρκη τὰ εἴργοντα καὶ ἐέργοντα
Translation (En)
The fences (herkē) would be the confining (eirgonta) and enclosing ones
Parallels
Eustathius, Comm. Il., vol. 1, p. 355 (Γίνεται δὲ ὁ ὅρκος ὅθεν καὶ τὸ ἕρκος· ἐκ τοῦ εἵργω γάρ, τὸ ἐγκλείω); Scholia in Oppianum, Hal. 1.289 (ἕρκος· ἔνδυμα ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴργω τὸ κωλύω)
Modern etymology
Maybe cognate with Lat. sarcio "to twine", sarcina "bundle", and Hitt. šarnink- "to restore damage" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
No
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Derivational etymology relying on the similar meaning rather than on form. The enclosure or the fence confines what is inside. This etymology is made easier by the fact that the verb has several variants, εἴργω, ἔργω, and in Homer ἐέργω, which is the second form mentioned by Eustathius