εἴρω2

Validation

Yes

Word-form

εἰρήνη

Transliteration (Word)

eirēnē

English translation (word)

peace

Transliteration (Etymon)

eirō

English translation (etymon)

to speak

Author

Philoxenus

Century

1 BC

Reference

Fragmenta 475

Edition

C. Theodoridis, Die Fragmente des Grammatikers Philoxenos [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 2. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1976

Source

Orion

Ref.

Etymologicum, epsilon, p. 61

Ed.

F. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig, Weigel, 1820

Quotation

εἰρήνη· παρὰ τὸ εἴρειν καὶ λέγειν ἐν αὐτῇ ἐξεῖναι, εἴπερ Ἄρης, ὁ πόλεμος, κατὰ στέρησιν τῆς ῥήσεως λέγεται

Translation (En)

Eirēnē "peace": named from the fact that in it one can speak (eirein) and talk (legein), since Arēs "war", is named from the privation of speech

Comment

This is an instance of etymology ex antonymo: since Ares, name of the god of war, and metonymically "war", is parsed as a privative compound ἀ-ρη- "in which there is no speech", from the root of ῥήτωρ, ῥῆσις etc., the antonym eirēnē "peace" must be etymologized through a word meaning "speech" or "to speak". It so happens that there is a verb which means "to speak" and is formally compatible with εἰρήνη, namely εἴρω, therefore it was selected as the etymon. The logical relationship between the etymology of εἰρήνη and the etymology of Ares is explicit through the conjunction εἴπερ. It was not a problem for Greek etymologists to contrast in an antonymic pair a common noun and the metonymic use of a proper name, here a theonym: it is obvious for us that both do not have the same status, but Greek scholars did not take that into account. And anyway, Peace was deified early, and its cult in Roman times was widespread, so that this asymmetry may not have been felt.

About the etymology mentioned here for Ares, cf. Epimerismi Homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, alpha 4 (τὸ δὲ Ἄρης παρὰ τὸ ῥῶ, τὸ λέγω, <...>, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ στερητικοῦ α <...>· ἐν γὰρ πολέμῳ οὐ λόγων, ἀλλ’ ἔργων χρεία)

Parallels

Philoxenus, Fr. 124, ap. Orion, Etymologicum, kappa p. 90 (καὶ ὡς παρὰ τὸ εἴρω εἰρήνη, οὕτω κρῶ κρήνη); Etym. Gudianum, kappa, p. 345 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 537 (idem); Orion, Etymologicum, epsilon, p. 61 (Εἰρήνη. παρὰ τὸ ἀλέγειν, καὶ εἴρειν ἐν αὐτῇ ἐξεῖναι. εἴπερ ἄρης ὁ πόλεμος κατὰ στέρησιν τῆς ῥήσεως [it is not clear whether Orion's ἀλέγειν is a mistake for λέγειν or if really "to worry about" is the meaning intended]); Herodian, Peri orthographias, Lentz III/2, p. 502 (εἰρήνη δίφθογγος κατὰ τὴν ἄρχουσαν. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ λάμπω λαμπήνη, οὕτω καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴρω τοῦ σημαίνοντος τὸ λέγω γίνεται εἰρήνη, ὅπερ διὰ διφθόγγου γράφεται); Choeroboscus, De orthographia (epitome) p. 209 (idem); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos p. 192 (Εἰρήνης, παρὰ τὸ εἴρω, τὸ λέγω, ἡ πανταχοῦ λαλουμένη, ἢ παρὰ τὸ εἴρω τὸ συμπλέκω); Etym. Gudianum, epsilon, p. 427 (Εἰρήνη· παρὰ τὸ εἴρειν καὶ λέγειν ἐν αὐτῇ, εἴπερ Ἄρης, ὁ πόλεμος, κατὰ στέρησιν τῆς ῥήσεως λέγεται. ‖ ἢ παρὰ τὸ εἴρω, ὅ ἐστι διαλέγομαι, καὶ τὸν <εἰ>ρήσω μέλλοντα. ἢ διὰ τὸ ἠρεμεῖν τὸν νοῦν); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, epsilon, p. 430 (εἴρω, τὸ λέγω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ εἰρωνεία·); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 1, 544 (Διό τινες τὸν Ἄρην παρὰ τὴν στέρησιν τοῦ λέγειν ἐτυμολογοῦντες τὴν εἰρήνην ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴρειν, ὅ ἐστι λέγειν, παράγουσι); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 140 (Παρὰ οὖν τὸ ῥῶ, γίνεται] ῥής· [ὅθεν καὶ ῥῆσις·] καὶ μετὰ τοῦ στερητικοῦ ἄλφα, ἄρης, παρ’ ᾧ οὐκ ἔστι διαλέγεσθαι […] Καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἐναντίον εἰρήνη, παρὰ τὸ εἴρω); ibid. p. 303 (Εἰρήνη: Παρὰ τὸ εἴρω, τὸ λέγω· ἢ παρὰ τὸ εἴρειν ἡμᾶς ἐπ’ αὐτήν· ἢ διὰ τὸ ἠρεμεῖν τὸν νοῦν)

Modern etymology

Unclear

Persistence in Modern Greek

The word is still used in Modern Greek to designate 1. the peaceful relations between countries, 2. the smooth relations between people and communities, 3. psychic/spiritual harmony and balance (Triandafyllidis Dict. of MG).

Entry By

Le Feuvre