ἀνά- + πηλός

Validation

Yes

Word-form

ἄμπελος

Transliteration (Word)

ampelos

English translation (word)

grapevine

Transliteration (Etymon)

ana- + pēlos

English translation (etymon)

upwards + dregs

Author

Herodian

Century

2 AD

Source

Orion

Ref.

Etymologicum, alpha p. 30

Ed.

F.W.Sturz, Etymologicum Graecae linguae Gudianum et alia grammaticorum scripta e codicibus manuscriptis nunc primum edita, Leipzig: Weigel, 1818

Quotation

Ἄμπελος, Ἡρωδιανὸς φησὶν ἐν Ἐπιμερισμοῖς ἀνάπηλος, παρὰ τὸ ἀναδοῦναι τὸν πηλὸν, τοῦτ’ ἔστι, τὸν οἶνον. πηλὸς δὲ ὁ οἶνος, παρὰ τὸ πάλλειν καὶ σείειν ἡμᾶς πίνοντας. οἱ δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἄνω πελάζειν, ἀνάπελός τις οὖσα

Translation (En)

Ampelos "grapevine": Herodian in his Epimerismi says that it is *anapēlos, from the fact that it produces (anadounai) dregs (pēlon), that is, wine. Pēlos means "wine", and it comes from the fact that it excites us to move quickly (pallein) and to bustle about (seiein) when we drink. But others say it comes from anō pelazein "to come near upwards", as though it were *anapelos

Comment

This etymology as the competing one parses the word as a compound with the preverb ἀνα-, under the syncopated form ἀν- / ἀμ- which was familiar to Greek scholars because it is well known in Homer and in several dialects. The second element is supposed to be πηλός "mud", which as a secondary meaning refers to dregs, the deposit left by wine. This implies an alternation between [ĕ] and [ē] of the τίθημι / τίθεμεν type. The interesting thing about it is that πηλός itself is assumed to be derived from πάλλειν, which implies a different alternation between [ă] and [ē] of the ἵστημι / ἵσταμεν type: Orion says elsewhere that this etymology, too, comes from Herodian (see πηλός / πάλλω). It was not a problem for Herodian to combine both in his derivative pattern. We modern know that those alternations show up in different roots and cannot be combined in the same root. But the notion of root was alien to Greek scholars (except maybe for Philoxenus who comes as close to it as he could), and each step, πάλλω / πηλός, and then πηλός / ἄμπελος, could in fact be backed by similar cases. The question of the compatibility of the two was not asked

Parallels

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi alpha 179 (ἐκ τοῦ ἄμπελος· τοῦτο ἀνάπελός τις οὖσα παρὰ τὸ ἄνω πελάζειν. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐν ἑαυτῇ ἔχειν τὸν πηλόν, ἤγουν τὸν οἶνον); Etym. Gudianum alpga p. 117 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 86 (idem); Eym. Gudianum, alpha p. 117 (Ἄμπελος· παρὰ τὸ ἄμπελος· πηλὸς γὰρ ὁ οἶνος, διὰ τοῦ ποιεῖν πάλλειν καὶ πηδᾶν. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄνω πελάζειν, ἀνάπελός τις οὖσα, καὶ συγκοπῇ καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ ἀμεταβόλου εἰς ἀμετάβολον ἄμπελος); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 684 (Ἄμπελος· παρὰ τὸ <***> ἀνάπηλός τις οὖσα, ἡ ⟦μὴ⟧ ἔχουσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὸν πηλόν, ἤγουν τὸν οἶνον. ἢ παρὰ τὸ πάλλειν καὶ σείειν ἡμᾶς πίνοντας); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha p. 150 (idem); Suda, kappa 334 (Καπηλίς: παρὰ τὸ κακύνειν τὸν πηλόν. πηλὸς δὲ ὁ οἶνος· ὅθεν καὶ ἄμπελος, οἱονεὶ ἔμπελος οὖσα, ἡ ἐν αὑτῇ ἔχουσα τὸν πηλόν); Scholia in Aristophanem, Plutus 426 (idem)

Modern etymology

Unknown

Persistence in Modern Greek

Άμπελος is preserved in the learned language as the scientific name of the grapevine, αμπέλι. It also designates the specific climbing plant, as well as its representation in Christian art (Triandafyllidis Dictionary of Modern Greek).

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