κόσμος

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Last modification

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 08:54

Word-form

κόμη

Transliteration (Word)

komē

English translation (word)

hair

Transliteration (Etymon)

kosmos

English translation (etymon)

ornament

Author

D Scholia

Century

1 AD

Source

Id.

Ref.

D Scholia Il. 1.197

Ed.

H. Van Thiel, Scholia D in Iliadem, online edition 2014

Quotation

Κόμης. Τῆς τριχώσεως. εἴρηται δὲ παρὰ τὸ κόσμον εἶναι τοῦ σώματος

Translation (En)

Komē "hair". It gets its name from the fact that it is the ornament (kosmos) of the body.

Comment

The etymology relies on a formal manipulation, the deletion of a consonant (this is implicit). From the semantic point of view, it is a functional etymology, based on the fact that "hair" is a particular type of "ornament", so that kosmos "ornament" is considered the hyperonym of komē "hair". 

Parallels

Herodian, De Prosodia catholica, Lentz III/2, p. 325 (τὸ μέντοι κόμη βαρύνεται ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμος γεγονυῖα, κόσμη γάρ); Arcadius, De accentibus 126 (idem); Theognostus, Canones sive De orthographia 679 (παρὰ γὰρ τὸ κόσμος κόσμη, καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ σ κόμη· κόσμος γὰρ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἡ κόμη); Epimerismi homerici Il. 1, 36b1a (τὸ δὲ κόμη εἴρηται ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμος, | τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ κοσμῶ. ἢ παρὰ τὸ κάζω, κόσμη καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ σ κόμη· κόσμος γὰρ καὶ εὐπρέπεια τοῦ σώματος ἡ κεφαλή); ibid., 36b1b (κόμη· διότι κόσμος ἐστὶ τοῦ σώματος γέγονε κόσμη καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ σ κόμη); ibid.; 197b (εἴρηται παρὰ τὸ κόσμ{ι}ον εἶναι τοῦ σώματος); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi kappa 4 (τὸ δὲ κόμη ἐκ τοῦ κόσμος· ὥσπερ γὰρ κόσμον ὁ δημιουργὸς ἐνέθηκε τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τὰς τρίχας); Etymologicum Gudianum, kappa p. 335 (κόμη, παρὰ τὸ κόσμον εἶναι τοῦ σώματος. οἱ δὲ παρὰ τὸ κομᾷν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 527 (Κόμη: Ἐκ τοῦ κείρω, τὸ κόπτω, κόρη· καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ ρ εἰς μ, κόμη, ἡ θρίξ. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ κόσμον εἶναι τοῦ σώματος· ὥσπερ γὰρ κόσμον ὁ δημιουργὸς ἐνέθηκε τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τὰς τρίχας); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, kappa p. 1235 (Κόμη. ἡ θρίξ. παρὰ τὸ κόσμον εἶναι τοῦ σώματος. οἱ δὲ, παρὰ τὸ κομᾷν καὶ ἐπιμελείας ἀξιοῦσθαι); Gregorius II Patriarcha, Contra Synesium 3 (Ἔστι γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἡ κόμη κόσμος τῆς κεφαλῆς—οἶμαι δ’ ὅτι κἀκ τούτου καὶ παρωνόμασται)

Modern etymology

Unclear. Borrowed in Latin as coma (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Κόμη is used in Modern Greek as an erudite form to denote: a) the 'hair' and b) the 'leaves of a tree' (Triandafyllidis Dictionary of MG).

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