μειόω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ὁ μὲν "μεὶς" ἀπὸ τοῦ μειοῦσθαι εἴη ἂν "μείης" ὀρθῶς κεκλημένος
Translation (En)
The word meis "month" would be rightly called *meiēs, from the fact that it diminishes (meioûsthai)
Parallels
Philoxenos, fr. 298, apud Orion, Etymologicum p. 103 (μείς· ὡς παρὰ τὸ ῥήσσω γίνεται ῥηγμίς, οὕτω καὶ παρὰ τὸ μειῶ μεῒς δισύλλαβον ἐσχημάτισται μακρῶς τε ἅμα καὶ ὀξυτόνως. παρὰ τὸ μειῶ δὲ εἴρηται, ὅτι μειουμένης εἰς ἄκρον τῆς σελήνης πληροῦται ὁ μήν. οὕτω Φιλόξενος ἐν τῷ Περὶ Ἰάδος διαλέκτου); Orion, Etymologicum, mu p. 103 (Μήν. παρὰ τὸ μεῖος. ὁ αὐτὸς ἀνὴρ οὕτω φησὶ, μεῖος μειὴν, καὶ συγκοπῇ, μήν· ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ ἡ μήνη); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, mu 19 (μήν (Β 292): γίνεται παρὰ τὸ μήνη, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν σελήνην· δι’ αὐτῆς γὰρ τελειοῦται ὁ μήν. ἢ παρὰ τὸ μεῖον, τὸ μικρόν, γίνεται μείην καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν μήν, ἡ εἰς ἄκρον ἐλάττωσις καὶ ἀποτερμάτωσις τῆς σελήνης); Etym. Gudianum, mu p. 391 (idem); Etym. Gudianum, sigma p. 504; Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 583 (Ἢ παρὰ τὸ μεῖος γίνεται· ὡς δὲ παρὰ τὸ ῥήσσω ῥηγμὶς, οὕτως καὶ παρὰ τὸ μειῶ, μείς. Ἐσχημάτισται μακρῶς τε ἅμα καὶ ὀξυτόνως. Παρὰ τὸ μεῖος μειῶ εἴρηται, ὅτι μειουμένης εἰς ἄκρον τῆς σελήνης, πληροῦται ὁ μήν. Τὸ δὲ μὴν γίνεται ἀπὸ τοῦ μήνη, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν σελήνην· δι’ αὐτῆς γὰρ τελειοῦται ὁ μήν. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ μεῖον, τὸ μικρὸν, γίνεται μειήν· καὶ συγκοπῇ, μὴν, ἡ εἰς ἄκρον ἐλάττωσις καὶ ἀποτερμάτωσις τῆς σελήνης); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, mu p. 1356 (Μήν. χρόνος ἀπὸ συνόδου ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης ἐπὶ τὴν ἑξῆς σύνοδον. ὡς παρὰ τὸ κέφαλος κεφαλὴν, οὕτω καὶ παρὰ τὸ μείω μειὴν καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν μήν. ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ μήνη).
Comment
This etymology is rather standard and is repeated in several sources. It is a descriptive etymology relating the name of the month to the phases of the moon, which define the month. It implies starting from the Ionic Nominative form μείς and not from the Attic most frequent form μήν, since only the diphthong in μείς can allow a link with the group of μείων "lesser", μειόω "to lessen". Later on, the Etym. Magnum gives explicitly two different explanations according to the shape of the nominative (see Parallels). This is not the only example in the Cratylus where Plato starts from a non Attic word form to suggest an etymology. From μειόω, Plato derives a ghost-form *μείης, which through a syncope yields the attested form