ἀ- + μένος

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Last modification

Sat, 07/31/2021 - 14:28

Word-form

ἀμνός

Transliteration (Word)

amnos

English translation (word)

lamb

Transliteration (Etymon)

a- + menos

English translation (etymon)

not + strength, spirit

Author

Herodian

Century

2 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

De prosodia catholica, Lentz III/1, p. 174

Ed.

A. Lentz, Grammatici graeci vol. 3/1, Leipzig, 1870

Quotation

τὸ δὲ ἀμνός ὀξύνεται. ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ α καὶ ἐπιθετικώτερον· ἄμενος γὰρ παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν μένος

Translation (En)

But the word amnos "lamb" is oxytone; it comes from the ‹privative› a- and is an epithet: as a matter of fact, it is *amenos, from the fact that it has no strength

Comment

As often, the word is parsed as a compound with the privative prefix. This descriptive etymology implies a phonetic manipulation, a syncope in *a-menos.

Parallels

Etym. Genuinum, alpha 663 (Ἀμνός· τὰ πρόβατα, μάλιστα τὰ μικρά· παρὰ τὸ μένος ἄμενος καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν ἀμνός, οἱονεὶ ὁ ἀδύνατος, καὶ παρώνυμον ὑποκοριστικὸν ἀμνίς); Etym. Parvum, alpha 82 (Ἀμνός· ὁ ἁπαλὸς καὶ τρυφερός· παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν μένος); Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p. 116 ( Ἀμνίς καὶ ἀμνός· τὰ πρόβατα τὰ μικρά· παρὰ τὸ μένος καὶ τὸ α στερητικὸν ἄμενος, ὁ ἀσθενής, καὶ ἐκ τούτου ὑποκοριστικὸν ἀμνίς καὶ ἀμνός); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 84 (Ἀμνός: Ὁ ἁπαλὸς καὶ τρυφερός. Ἀμνὶς καὶ ἀμνὸς, τὰ πρόβατα τὰ μικρά. Παρὰ τὸ μένος, μετὰ τοῦ στερητικοῦ α, ἄμενος· καὶ συγκοπῇ ἀμνὸς, οἱονεὶ ὁ ἀδύνατος); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 410 (idem); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 143 (ἀμνὸς, παρὰ τὸ μένος ἄμενος).

Modern etymology

Ἀμνός, isolated within Greek except for its derivatives (ἀμνίον, ἀμνεῖος), is the old PIE word for "lamb", cognate with Lat. agnus and OCS agnę "lamb". PIE *h2egwno- (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Αμνός is used in MG to designate 1. The newly-born lamb, 2. lamb meat, 3. Jesus Christ (ο Αμνός του Θεού). Αμνοσκοπεία also survives to denote the 'prediction of future by observing the backbone of a slaughtered lamp (Triandafyllidis, Dict. of MG).

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