Compositional etymology drawn from a Homeric line, Od. 6.92 στεῖβον δ’ ἐν βόθροισι θοῶς, ἔριδα προφέρουσαι "and stomped on them rapidly in the basins, making a contest of it." In this line the adverb θοῶς odes not belong with προφέρουσαι but with στεῖβον. However, since the two words are contiguous in the line, someone saw in that a possible etymology of the word ἔριθος, even though the latter does not appear in this Homeric passage. Eustathius repeats this hypothesis, which he labels "not unbelievable", and which could be appropriate for some uses, next to the standard etymology by ἔρια "wool works" to which he subscribes.