νέος + βορά

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No

Last modification

Sat, 08/15/2026 - 09:20

Word-form

νεβροί

Transliteration (Word)

nebros

English translation (word)

fawn

Transliteration (Etymon)

neos + bora

English translation (etymon)

new + food

Author

Apollonius Soph.

Century

1 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Lexicon homericum, p. 115

Ed.

I. Bekker, Apollonii Sophistae lexicon Homericum, Berlin, 1833

Quotation

νεβροί τὰ νεογνὰ τῶν ἐλάφων. καὶ ἔστι κατὰ τὸ ἔτυμον νεοβόροι, νεωστὶ πρὸς τὴν βορὰν ἐληλυθότες· “νεβροὺς κοιμήσασα νεηγενέας γαλαθηνούς.”

Translation (En)

Nebroi "fawns": the newborn of the deer. And the word is etymologically *neoboroi, the ones that came recently (neōsti) to food (boran) : ‘nebrous koimēsasa neēgeneas galathēnous’ (Od. 4.336) "having laid her newborn sucking fawns"

Comment

Compositional etymology based on a Homeric line: since in Od. 4.336 νεβρούς is qualified by νεηγενέας "newly born" and γαλαθήνους "milk-fed", the first epithet is assumed to replicate the first member of the compound, νέον (νε-) and the second epithet the second member (-βρος), since -θη- "breast-fed" can be considered as synonymous with βορά "food"

Parallels

Hesychius, Lexicon, nu 196 (νεβρός· νεωστὶ εἰς βορὰν ἐληλυθώς. νεοβόρος); D Schol. Il. 4.243 (οϊ νεωστὶ ἐπὶ βορὰν ἐληλυθότες, ἢ νεπόροι οἱ μηδέπω πορεύεσθαι δυνάμενοι); Geneva Schol. Il. 4.243 (νεβροὶ δὲ οἱονεὶ νεωστὶ ἐπὶ βορὰν ἰόντες, ἢ νεπόροι οἱ μήπω πορεύεσθαι δυνάμενοι); T Schol. Il. 8.248a1 (νεβρόν: τὸ νεωστὶ βορᾶς δεχόμενον †εὔθυμον† φασὶ γενόμενον †σάρκα φάγεσθαι ἀετοῦ· νεβρὸς αἰετοῦ ἀετός†); b Schol. Il. 8.248a2 (ὁ νεωστὶ βορὰν δεχόμενος ἢ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐπιτήδειος); A Schol. Il. 22.1b ( νεβροί: οἱ νεωστὶ ἐπὶ βορὰν ἰόντες· ἢ νήποροι, οἱ μηδέπω πορεύεσθαι δυνάμενοι); Eustathius, Comm. Il., vol. 2, p. 574 (Νεβρὸς δὲ οὐ τελεία ἔλαφος, ἀλλ’ ὁ νεωστὶ βορὰν δεχόμενος); Eustathius, Comm. Od., vol. 1, p. 168 (ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲ τελείαις ἐλάφοις εἰκάσθησαν, ἀλλὰ νεβροῖς. ὧν ἐτυμολογία, ἐκ τοῦ, νέον βορᾶς ἢ πορείας ἄρχεσθαι. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐστερῆσθαι βορᾶς ἔτι διὰ τὸ θηλάζειν. ἢ καὶ παρὰ τὸ μήπω ἔχειν πορεύεσθαι); ibid., vol. 2, p. 200 (Τὸν δὲ ἑλλὸν καὶ νεβρὸν ὑποκαταβὰς ἔφη, ὃ δηλοῖ νεογνὸν ἔλαφον, νεωστὶ βορὸν ἢ βορᾶς ἁπτόμενον); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 599 (Νεβροί: Ἐλάφων γεννήματα· οἱ νεωστὶ ἐπὶ βορὰν ἐλθόντες ἢ ἰόντες· ἢ παρὰ τὸ νεωστὶ πρὸς πορείαν ἰέναι· ἢ νέποροι, οἱ μηδέπω πορεύεσθαι δυνάμενοι· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ΝΕ στερητικὸν καὶ τὸ βορὰ, τὸ ἐστερημένον τῆς βορᾶς, ὅ ἐστι τῆς τροφῆς); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, nu, p. 1388 (Νεβρός. τὸ τῆς ἐλάφου γέννημα, ὁ νεωστὶ ἐπὶ βορὰν ἐληλυθώς. [ἢ νεβρὸν τὸν μείζονα καὶ οὐ νεογενῆ λέγει, ὡς νεμόμενον ἐπὶ βοράν)

Modern etymology

Probably cognate with Arm. nerk "color", from *(s)negwro-, if the fawn is named after its color (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

No

Entry By

Le Feuvre