αἴθω

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Word-form

αἰθέρος

Transliteration (Word)

aithēr

English translation (word)

ether

Transliteration (Etymon)

aithō

English translation (etymon)

to burn

Author

Anaxagoras

Century

5 BC

Source

Simplicius

Ref.

In Aristotelis quattuor libros de caelo commentaria 7.119

Ed.

Heiberg, Simplicii in Aristotelis De caelo commentaria, Berlin 1894

Quotation

αἰτιᾶται δὲ τὸν Ἀναξαγόραν οὐ καλῶς ἐτυμολογήσαντα τὸ τοῦ αἰθέρος ὄνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθειν, ὅ ἐστι τὸ καίειν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρὸς αὐτῷ χρώμενον.

Translation (En)

He (Aristoteles) blames Anaxagoras who etymologised wrongly the name of aithēr “ether” from aithein “to be in flames”, that is "to burn", and used it for that reason about fire.

Comment

This is the correct etymology in the modern sense.

Parallels

Chrysippus, fr. 664 (ap. Philo, De confusione linguarum 156) (ὅτι ὁ αἰθήρ, ἱερὸν πῦρ, φλόξ ἐστιν ἄσβεστος, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸ δηλοῖ τοὔνομα, παρὰ τὸ αἴθειν, ὃ δὴ καίειν ἐστὶ κατὰ γλῶτταν, εἰρημένον); Cornutus, De natura deorum 2, 12-14 (ὅθεν καὶ αἰθὴρ ἐκλήθη τὸ ἐξωτάτω μέρος τοῦ κόσμου ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθεσθαι· τινὲς δέ φασιν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀεὶ θεῖν οὕτως αὐτὸν ὠνομάσθαι, ὅ ἐστι ῥοίζῳ φέρεσθαι); Dionysius Perieg., Orbis descriptio 595 (δινεῖται κατὰ κύκλον ἐν αἰθέρι Καρκίνος αἴθων); Ps.-Herodian, Partitiones 28 (Πλὴν τοῦ αἴθω, τὸ καίω· αἰθαλόω, αἰθαλῶ, τὸ κατακαίω· αἰθάλη, ἡ στακτή· αἰθαλόεις, ὁ καυστικός· αἰθὴρ, αἰθέρος); Alexander Phil., In Aristotelis meteorologicorum libros comentaría p. 129 (ὅτι δὲ Ἀναξαγόρας τὸν αἰθέρα καὶ τὸ κυκλοφορητικὸν σῶμα πῦρ λέγει, ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθειν ἡγούμενος αὐτὸ οὕτως ὠνομάσθαι, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀεὶ θεῖν, εἴρηται καὶ ἐν τοῖς Περὶ οὐρανοῦ); Achilles Tatius, Isagoga excerpta 21 (αἰθὴρ δὲ λέγεται ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθεσθαι (πυρώδης γάρ ἐστιν) ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀεὶ θεῖν καὶ ὁρμᾶν, ἐπειδὴ ἀεὶ περιφέρεται); Eusebius, Praeparatio evangelica 3.10.10 (αἰθὴρ δὲ ἀήρ ἐστιν ὁ ὑψηλότατος καὶ πυρώδης ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθεσθαι, ὅπερ ἐστὶ καίεσθαι); Macarius, Apocritica p. 39; Stobaeus, Anthologium 1.40.1 (Οὐρανοῦ δὲ καὶ ἄστρων οὐσίαν μὲν αἰθέρα <καλοῦμεν>, οὐχ, ὥς τινες, διὰ τὸ πυρώδη οὖσαν αἴθεσθαι, πλημμελοῦντες περὶ τὴν πλεῖστον πυρὸς ἀπηλλαγμένην δύναμιν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἀεὶ θεῖν κυκλοφορουμένην); Orion, Etymologicum, alpha, p. 612 (αἰθὴρ παρὰ τὸ αἴθεσθαι· πυρώδης γὰρ ὁ τόπος) Hesychius, Lexicon, alpha 1855 (αἰθέρα· ἐμπυρισμόν, ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθεσθαι); Philoponus, In Aristotelis Meteorologicorum librum primum commentarium 14/1, p.16 (ἀποδέχεται δὲ καὶ Ἀναξαγόραν οὕτως αὐτὸν ὀνομάζοντα, μέμφεται δὲ ὅτι παρὰ τὸ αἴθειν, τουτέστι καίειν, αἰθέρα καλεῖσθαι νενόμικε); ibid. 14/1, p.18 (κατανοήσαντες δὲ τὰ οὐράνια καὶ ἀεὶ ταῦτα κινούμενα βλέποντες αἰθέρα καὶ θεὸν αὐτὰ ὠνόμασαν, τὸ μὲν παρὰ τὸ αἴθειν, τὸ δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἀεὶ θέειν); Olympiodorus, In Aristotelis meteora commentaria p. 20 (αἰθέρα γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσαν παρὰ τὸ ἀεὶ θεῖν. ἀεὶ γὰρ κινοῦνται τὰ οὐράνια καὶ κατὰ ῥυθμόν. Ἀναξαγόρας δὲ ἐχρήσατο μὲν τούτῳ τῷ ὀνόματι, πλὴν οὐ καλῶς ἐτυμολογίᾳ. αἰθέρα γὰρ αὐτὸν ἔφησε καλεῖσθαι παρὰ τὸ αἴθειν καὶ καίειν); Anonymus lexicographus, Συναγωγὴ λέξεων χρησίμων, alpha 179 (αἰθήρ· ὁ ἐν ὕψει ἀήρ, ὁ ἐπάνω τοῦ ἀέρος καιόμενος ἐκ τοῦ ἡλίου); Theognostus, Canones sive De orthographia 9 (αἴθω τὸ καίω, καὶ εἴτι παρ’ αὐτό· αἰθάλη· αἰθήρ); ibid. 523; Photius, Lexicon, alpha 570 (Αἰθέρα· οὕτω τὸν ἐμπυρισμὸν λέγουσιν Ἀττικοὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθεσθαι); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos 6 (ὥσπερ παρὰ τὸ αἴθω, τὸ καίω, αἰθὴρ, καὶ ἄω, τὸ πνέω, ἀὴρ); Choeroboscus, Prolegomena et scholia in Theodosii Alexandrini canones p. 298 (καὶ πάλιν παρὰ τὸ αἴθω τὸ σημαῖνον τὸ καίω γίνεται αἰθήρ αἰθέρος, οἱονεὶ ὁ καυστικός); Joannes Mauropus, Etymologica nominum 61-62 (Αἰθὴρ πυρὸς ταμεῖον, ἢ πηγὴ πλέον, | αἴθειν ἀλύπως καὶ πυροῦν πεφυκότος); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 2, 524 (ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ αἰθὴρ διχῇ οὕτω λέγεται. ἢ γὰρ παρὰ τὸ αἴθειν, ὅ ἐστι καίειν, πυρὸς δίκην κατά τινας, ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴθειν, ἤγουν λάμπειν, ὅθεν καὶ ὁ ἀστήρ, εἰ καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς σοφοῖς ἀρέσκει παρὰ τὸ αἰεὶ θεῖν αἰθὴρ λελέχθαι, διὰ τὸ κατ’ αὐτὸν ἀεικίνητον συνεσφαιρωμένον τῷ οὐρανῷ)

Modern etymology

Chantraine (1970, 32): "αἰθήρ" derives from "αἴθω", which means 'to burn'

Persistence in Modern Greek

In Modern Greek the form has become "αιθέρας" ('the total space via which light and electromagnetic waves are transmitted'), while the ancient Greek plural number is used ("αιθέρες") with the meaning 'clean sky' (Triandafillidis Diction. of Modern Greek).

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