γῆ
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ἀλεξίων μέν<τοι>, ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ γέα τοῦ διὰ τοῦ ε γεγραμμένου, γίνεται γεΐτων καὶ κράσει γείτων
Translation (En)
But Alexion says that from gea "earth", spelled with ‹e›, comes geïtōn and through contraction geitōn "neighbour"
Parallels
Orion, Etymologicum, gamma p. 40 (Γείτων, παρὰ τὴν γῆν γεΐτων, καὶ γείτων, ὁ ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς τόποις.); Choeroboscus, De orthographia (epitome) p. 189 (Γείτων: Τὸ γει δίφθογγος· γέγονε ἀπὸ τοῦ γέα γραφέντος διὰ τοῦ ε γεΐτων, καὶ κατὰ σύνθεσιν γείτων· καὶ ἄλλως· ἀπὸ τοῦ γῆ γηΐτων, καὶ κατὰ συστολὴν τοῦ η εἰς ε γεΐτων, καὶ κατὰ συναίρεσιν γείτων), see below Etym. Gudianum; Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos 138 (παρὰ τὸ γέα· ὅπερ διὰ τοῦ Ε ψιλοῦ γράφεται γεΐτων καὶ γείτων κράσει); Lexica Segueriana, gamma p. 231 (Γείτων: ἐγγύς, παρὰ τὴν γέαν); Etym. Gudianum, gamma p. 302 (Γεωργίου Γείτων· τὸ γει δίφθογγον· τὰ παρὰ τὸ γέα συγκείμενα διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου γράφεται· ἐξ οὗ καὶ γειτνιῶ· ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ γέα τοῦ γραφομένου διὰ τοῦ ε γίνεται γεΐτων, καὶ κατὰ συναίρεσιν γείτων); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 229 (Γείτων: Παρὰ τὸ γέα γεΐτων· καὶ κατὰ συναίρεσιν, γείτων. Ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ γείνω, τοῦ σημαίνοντος τὸ πλησιάζω, γέγονε γείτων. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ γῆ, γηΐτων· καὶ κατὰ συστολὴν καὶ συναίρεσιν, γείτων); Etym. Symeonis, gamma 43; Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, gamma p. 426.
Comment
The etymology is mainly paronomastic, as in late Greek η and ει were both pronounced [I] because of iotacism. Orion's formulation deriving γείτων from γῆ is the simplest one (see Parallels). Alexion sought to explain the difference between the spelling ‹η› for "earth" and the spelling ‹ει› for "neighbour" by assuming that γῆ was contracted from γέα, which at least displays the ‹ε› found in γείτων. This form γέα is indeed attested as a hyperarchaism in Pindar's compound γεάοχος (for γαιήοχος, O. 13, 81) and in γέαι (Greek Anthology 9, 430). Notice that the Etym. Gudianum treats the explanations through γῆ and γέα as two different ones. From the semantic point of view, it is a descriptive etymology, the neighbour is the one who lives on the same land.