ἔργον
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ἀργαλέον, χαλεπόν. εἴρηται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγους, ἀλγαλέον καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ λ εἰς τὸ ρ. ἔργον δὲ παρὰ τοῖς παλαιοῖς τὸ δυσχερές. ἐκ τούτου παραγωγὸν ἐργαλέον, καὶ τροπῇ· ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔπω ἀπύω, τὸ φωνῶ. ἀργαλέον δὲ, δύσκολον, δυσχερές
Translation (En)
Argaleon "painful". From algos "pain", *algaleon and with change of the [l] into [r]. And the word ergon "work" for the ancients means that which is hard, from it one derives *ergaleon and through change <of [e] into [a]> as in epō becoming apuō "to call". Argaleon means what is difficult and hard
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha, p. 184 (Ἀργαλέον· ἐκ τοῦ ἔργον καὶ τοῦ ἅλιον, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ μάταιον); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 4.807 Van der Valk (Ἐτυμολόγοι τὸ ἀργαλέον οὐ μόνον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔργου ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγους ἐτυμολογοῦντες εὑρίσκονται τροπῇ τοῦ λ εἰς ρ); Scholia in Aristophanem, Plutum 1 (ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλγος ἀργαλέον ὡς ποδαλγία, ποδαργία· ἢ ἐκ τοῦ ἔργου τὸ δύσκολον, ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ τὸ ἐργῶδες, κατὰ παραγωγὴν ἐργαλέον καὶ ἀργαλέον); Scholia in Hesiodum, Opera et dies, 92ter (Ἐκ τοῦ ἔργου, τὸ δυσχερὲς, ἢ ἐκ τοῦ ἄλγος ἐμποιεῖν, ἀλγαλέον, καὶ ἀργαλέον, Tzetzes); ibid., line 227 (Ἐκ τοῦ ἔργου τὸ χαλεπὸν καὶ δυσχερὲς, ἐργαλέον, καὶ ἀργαλέον, Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄλγος, ἀλγαλέον, καὶ ἀργαλέον, Tzetzes)
Comment
The first etymology given is the usual one, which is old (see ἀργαλέος / ἄλγος). The second one derives the adjective from Ergon "work", assuming, not a change of the consonant, as the usual etymology, but a change of the initial vowel. This etymology appears only in Byzantine sources, and it is probably linked with the fact that the word ἐργαλεῖον "tool" acquired a variant ἀργαλεῖον "weaving loom" (still used in Modern Greek αργαλείο). As manual work was considered painful, the etymology could be justified thereby. It relies also on the co-occurrence of ἀργαλέον with ἔργον in Homer (Il. 4.470-471 ἐπ’ αὐτῷ δ’ ἔργον ἐτύχθη | ἀργαλέον Τρώων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν·) and Hesiod, Th. 601-602 (ξυνήονας ἔργων | ἀργαλέων). A variant of this etymology explains the word as a compound of ἔργον and ἅλιος "fruitless, vain" (Additamenta in Etym. Gudianum, see Parallels).