αὔω
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
αὐλή
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
aulē
English translation (word)
courtyard
Transliteration (Etymon)
auō
English translation (etymon)
to light a fire
Century
9 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 135
Ed.
T. Gaisford, Georgii Choerobosci epimerismi in Psalmos, vol. 3, Oxford, 1842:
Quotation
αὐλίζω, ἐκ τοῦ αὐλή· τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ αὔω, τὸ λάμπω, αὐὴ καὶ αὐλή
Translation (En)
Aulizō "to live in the open" comes from aulē "courtyard"; the latter comes from auō "to light a fire", hence *auē and aulē
Parallels
Choeroboscus, ibid. p. 150 (Ηὐλίσθην, ἐκ τοῦ αὐλίζω, τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ αὐλὴ, τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ αὔω τὸ λάμπω); Etym. Gudianum, eta, p. 251 (idem); Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p. 233 (Αὐλή· παρὰ τὸ αὔω, τὸ λάμπω, αὐή καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ λ αὐλή. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄω, τὸ πνέω).
Modern etymology
Αὐλή is an old derivative of the PIE root *h2wes- "to spend the night", found in Vedic vásati "he dwells" and in Engl. was. Within Greek, it is connected with the aorist ἄεσα < ἄϝεσα "I spent the night" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
The word is still used in Modern Greek to designate 1. the yard, 2. the court of a king, or the closest persons of an important powerful individual, sometimes meaning 'flatterers'.
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The courtyard, which has no roof, is defined as the place where the sunlight shines, as opposed to the interior of the house. Choeroboscus takes αὔω not in the older meaning "to light a fire" (which was possible in the courtyard) but in a more general meaning "to shine". This derivational etymology relies on a basic formal manipulation, the addition of a consonant.