μένω
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
μήν
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
mēn
English translation (word)
month
Transliteration (Etymon)
menō
English translation (etymon)
to stay, to remain
Century
9 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 120
Ed.
T. Gaisford, Georgii Choerobosci epimerismi in Psalmos, vol. 3, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1842: 1-192.
Quotation
τὸ δὲ μήνη παρὰ τὸ μειοῦσθαι καὶ ἐκλείπειν, ἢ παρὰ τὸ μὴν μηνός· τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ μένω, τὸ ἐπιμένω
Translation (En)
"Moon" (mēnē) comes from the fact that it diminishes and fades out, or from mēn, mēnos "month", and the latter comes from menō "to persist, to remain"
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, sigma p. 504 (idem)
Modern etymology
Μήν, μείς is the old word for "moon", attested in all IE languages, which then took on the meaning "month" in may languages, hence the new derivative μήνη "moon" in Greek (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
Modern Greek has μήνας "month", which is a remodeling after the old accusative μῆνα. There also are μηνιαίος, 'monthly' and μηνιάτικο 'a month's salary'.
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The etymology by μένω is more frequently found for "moon" than for "month" in Greek sources (see μήνη / μένω). The etymology relies, from the formal point of view, on the familiar alternation between long and short vowel. From the semantic point of view, it refers to the duration of the month