onomatopoeic

Validation

No

Last modification

Thu, 08/13/2026 - 12:15

Word-form

βορέας

Transliteration (Word)

boreas

English translation (word)

North wind

Transliteration (Etymon)

borr

English translation (etymon)

brr

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

Etym. Genuinum

Ref.

Etym. Genuinum, beta, 184

Ed.

F. Lasserre and N. Livadaras, Etymologicum magnum genuinum. Symeonis etymologicum una cum magna grammatica. Etymologicum magnum auctum, vol. 2, Athens: Parnassos Literary Society, 1992

Quotation

Βορέας· ὁ μὲν Ὠρίων (35, 1) ὠνοματοπεποιῆσθαι τὴν λέξιν φησὶ κατὰ μίμησιν τοῦ ἤχου τοῦ γινομένου κατὰ τὴν πνοὴν αὐτοῦ. ἄλλοι δὲ παρὰ τὸ βάρος Βορέας. ἢ (philox. fr. 67) παρὰ τὸ βῶ, τὸ τρέφω, ὁ τρέφων καὶ αὐξάνων τοὺς καρπούς. ἢ παρὰ τὸ βορά, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν τροφήν, γίνεται Βορέας· βορᾶς γὰρ ἡμῖν αἴτιος συναύξων τοὺς καρπούς

Translation (En)

Boreas "North wind": Orion says it is a word created by imitation of the noise that is produced when this wind blows. Others say that from baros "weight" comes Boreas, Or from "to feed", the one feeding and nourishing the crops. Or from bora, which means "food", is derived Boreas, for it is the cause of our food, as it makes the crops grow

Comment

The word is assumed to be onomatopoeic, imitating the sound [brr]. The etymology is attributed to Orion by the Byzantine Etymologica. However, it is not found in the extant manuscripts of Orion

Parallels

Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 205 (Βορᾶς: Παρὰ τὸ βορώτατα τὰ σώματα ἡμῶν ποιεῖν καὶ ὑγιεινότατα. Ὁ μὲν Ὠρίων ὠνοματοπεποιῆσθαι τὴν λέξιν φησὶ κατὰ μίμησιν τοῦ γινομένου ἤχου κατὰ τὴν πνοὴν αὐτοῦ· ἄλλοι δὲ, παρὰ τὸ βάρος, βορέας· ἢ παρὰ τὸ βῶ, τὸ τρέφω, ὁ τρέφων καὶ αὐξάνων τοὺς καρπούς· ἢ παρὰ τὸ βορά· βορᾶς γὰρ ἡμῖν αἴτιος ἐστὶ, τροφῆς, αὔξων τοὺς καρπούς. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ βαίνειν αὐτὸν ῥᾷον πρὸς ἡμᾶς); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 466 (Βορᾶς: ὠνοματοπεποιῆσθαι τὴν λέξιν φησὶ κατὰ μίμησιν τοῦ γινομένου ἤχου κατὰ τὴν πνοὴν αὐτοῦ· ἄλλοι δὲ, παρὰ τὸ βάρος, βορέας· ἢ παρὰ τὸ βῶ, τὸ τρέφω, ὁ τρέφων καὶ αὐξάνων τοὺς καρπούς· ἢ παρὰ τὸ βορά· βορᾶς γὰρ ἡμῖν αἴτιος αὔξων τοὺς καρπούς)

Modern etymology

Cognate with Skt. girí-, Av. gairi-, Slavic gora "mountain, Lith, gìrė "wood" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has βορράς "North"

Entry By

Le Feuvre