ῥέω
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
ῥᾷον
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
rhaion
English translation (word)
easily
Transliteration (Etymon)
rheō
English translation (etymon)
to flow
Century
5 AD
Source
idem
Ref.
Etymologicum, rho, p. 140
Ed.
F. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig, Weigel, 1820
Quotation
Ῥᾷον παρὰ τὸ ῥέω. τὸ γὰρ εὐχερῶς γενόμενον ῥύσει ἔοικε.
Translation (En)
Rhaion "more easily" comes from rheō "to flow", for what is done easily is similar to a flow
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, rho, p. 490 (Ῥᾷον, σημαίνει τὸ εὔκολον, παρὰ τὸ ῥέω· καί τι μετέχει ἐκ τοῦ ῥέω; τὸ γὰρ εὐχερῶς γινόμενον ῥεύσει ἔοικε); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, rho, p. 1611 (Ῥηΐτερον. εὐκολώτερον. ῥηΐδιον. ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥέω ῥεΐδιον, καὶ κατ’ ἔκτασιν ῥηΐδιον. Ἡσίοδος‘ῥηΐδιον γὰρ ἔπος εἰπεῖν’)
Modern etymology
Derivative of the adverb ῥᾶ < ῥῆα, Aeolic βρᾶ, from *ϝρᾶ́α. No known cognates (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
No
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Derivational etymology, valid for the comparative of ῥᾴδιος "easy". For the positive ῥᾴδιος the etymology may have been different. The etymology relies on the idea that what is flowing is moving effortlessly. Only the initial consonant of the etymon is kept