αἴρω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
ἀρητῆρα: παρὰ τὴν ἀράν, ἀράτης, τροπῇ τοῦ α εἰς η Ἰωνικῇ. ἀρατήρ δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ, ἀρᾷς, ἀράσω, ἀρατήρ, ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρω, τὸ κουφίζω, ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρέσκειν Θεῷ
Translation (En)
Arētēra "priest": from ara "prayer", aratēs, with the Ionic change of [a] into [ē]. The word aratēr comes from araō "to pray", future arasō, hence arētēr, or from airō "to lift"", or from areskein "to please" God.
Parallels
Etym. Genuinum, alpha 1163 (Ἀρητήρ· ὁ ἱερεύς· παρὰ τὰς ἀράς, ἃς ποιεῖται· ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρειν τὰς χεῖρας εἰς ὕψος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρέσκειν θεῷ); Epimerismi homerici in Iliadem 1, 11c2 (ἀρητῆρα: Ἰωνικὸν τροπῇ τοῦ α εἰς η· ἀρατήρ παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ ἀρᾷς ἀράσω, ἀρατήρ καὶ ἀρητήρ. τὸ δὲ ἀρῶ παρὰ τὸ ἀρά· | τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ αἴρω, τὸ κουφίζω, <...> τὸ εἰς ὕψος αἴρειν τὰς χεῖρας. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἀρά ἡ εὐχὴ καὶ ἡ κατάρα, ἴσως ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἄρεος, βλαπτικοῦ ὄντος); Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p. 192-193 (Ἀρητῆρα· Ἰωνικῶς τροπῇ τοῦ α εἰς η <ἀρατῆρα ἀρητῆρα. παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ ἀρᾷς ἀράσω> ἀρατήρ καὶ ἀρητήρ. τὸ δὲ ἀρῶ παρὰ τὸ ἀρά [τὸ εὔχομαι, ἀράσω ἤρακα ἤραμαι ἤρασαι ἤραται ἠρατήρ ὑπερθέσει τοῦ α εἰς η καὶ τοῦ η εἰς α ἀρητήρ]. τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ αἴρω, τὸ κουφίζω, <διὰ> τὸ εἰς ὕψος αἴρειν τὰς χεῖρας. λέγεται <δὲ ἀρὰ> καὶ ἡ εὐχὴ καὶ ἡ κατάρα, ἴσως ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἄρεος βλαπτικοῦ ὄντος); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha, p. 192 (Ἀρητήρ· ὁ ἱερεύς. παρὰ τὸν ῥήσω μέλλοντα· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρᾶσθαι, ὅ ἐστιν εὔχεσθαι· ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρειν τὰς χεῖρας εἰς προσευχήν· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρέσκειν θεῷ); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 140 (Ἀρητήρ: Ὁ ἱερεύς· παρὰ τὰς ἀρὰς ἃς ποιεῖται· ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρειν τὰς χεῖρας εἰς ὕψος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρέσκειν θεῷ· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ ἀρᾷς, ἀράσω, ἀρατὴρ, καὶ ἀρητὴρ Ἰωνικῶς, τροπῇ τοῦ ἄλφα εἰς η); Geneva Schol. Il. 1.11 ([ἀρητῆρα] ἀρητὴρ δὲ παρὰ τὸ αἴρειν τὰς χεῖρας εἰς εὐχήν, ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀρέσκειν)
Comment
This descriptive etymology etymologizes the name of the priest through a physical manifestation of the act of praying, in which the priest raises his hands towards the gods (this is explicit in Epimerismi homerici in Iliadem 1, 11c2 τὸ εἰς ὕψος αἴρειν τὰς χεῖρας “to raise one's hands upwards"). It neglects the fact that αἴρω results from a contraction of ἀείρω: since the contracted form is attested in Homer, it was licit for Greek scholars to start from the contracted stem ἀρ- which is found for instance in the future ἀρῶ. The contracted form has a long [ᾱ], and in Ionic ἀρητήρ also has a long ᾱ. A more developed formation found in the Etym. Gudianum (see Parallels) shows that ἀρά "prayer" was itself derived from αἴρω (see ἀρά / αἴρω): this is a case where the etymon of the etymon is given as direct etymon of the lemma ("N comes from X which comes from Y" becomes "N comes from Y", in that case "ἀρητήρ comes from ἀρά which comes from αἴρω" becomes "ἀρητήρ comes from αἴρω")