ἀ- + λέχος
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
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Ed.
Quotation
καὶ ἄκοιτις δὲ καὶ ἄλοχος ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ κυρίως ἡ παρθενικὴ λέγεσθαι, παρὰ τὸ λέχους ἑτέρου μὴ μετασχεῖν μηδὲ κοίτης. παρ’ ὃ καὶ λέγει κουριδίης ἀλόχου (Α 114). λοιπὸν δ’ ἡ κατάχρησις καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς ἄλλας μετήγαγεν
Translation (En)
And the words akoitis ‘spouse’ and alokhos ‘wife’ refer, I think, to maidenhood: they come from the fact that (the woman) did not share the bed (lekhous) of another man nor his bedding, and this is why (Homer) says kouridiēs alokhou "wife married as a maid" (Il. 1.114); and then through extension the word was used for the other (women)
Parallels
With privative alpha: Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha, p. 68 (Ἄκοιτις καὶ ἄλοχος· ἡ ἑτέρου εἰς κοίτην καὶ λέχος ⟦μὴ⟧ ἐλθοῦσα).
With copulative alpha: Anonymi Commentarius in Platonis Theaetetum, P. Berol. inv. 9782, 48-49 (τὸ ἄλοχος ἀντὶ τ̣οῦ ὁμόλοχος ἣ κο[ι]νω̣ν̣οῦσα το̣ῦ̣ λέχου̣ς); Pollux, Onomasticon 2, 221 (ἡ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ λέχος ἀναβαίνουσα); Epimerismi homerici Il. 1.31c (ἄλοχος, ἡ ὁμόκοιτος); Etym. Gudianum, lambda, p. 367 (idem); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 2, 582 Van der Valk (Τὸ γὰρ λέχος εἰσαναβαίνειν τὸ εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν κοίτην ἰέναι δηλοῖ σαφῶς καὶ ἄλοχον εἶναι, ἐπείπερ τὸ ὁμὸν λέχος εἰ συντεθῇ, ποιεῖ τὸν ὁμόλεκτρον, τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἄλοχος).
With both: Etym. Genuinum, alpha 534 (Ἄλοχος (Β 700)· γυνή· κυρίως ἡ ἐκ παρθενίας ἑτέρου λέχους ἄπειρος. ἤ ἐστι λέχος, ἡ κοίτη, καὶ λόχος καὶ μετὰ τοῦ α τοῦ σημαίνοντος τὸ ὁμοῦ ἢ ἅμα γίνεται ἄλοχος, οἱονεὶ † ὁμόλοχός τις οὖσα, ἡ μετέχουσα τῆς κοίτης τοῦ ἀνδρός. οὕτως Ὠρίων); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 70 (idem); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 128 (idem); Etym. Symeonis 1, p. 330 (ἄλοχος (Β 700)· κυρίως — ἄπειρος. ἢ ὅτι λέχος— 6 σημαίνοντος τὸ ὁμοῦ ἢ ἅμα, γίνεται ἄλοχος, ἡ ὁμόκοιτος)
Comment
This etymology analyses correctly the word as a compound ἄ-λοχος and correctly relates it to λέχος "bed". But contrary to the usual etymology which correctly identifies the ἀ- as the copulative alpha, understanding ἄλοχος as the one "who shares the bed" (see Parallels), this one identifies it as the privative alpha, understanding literally ἄλοχος as the one "who has no ‹other› bed", implying that she was a virgin. The ambiguity of the prefix ἀ- for Greek scholars is thereby very clear, and each interpretation can be semantically justified