βαίνω + αἷμα
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
βωμός
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
bōmos
English translation (word)
raised platform, altar
Transliteration (Etymon)
bainō + haima
English translation (etymon)
to walk + blood
Century
5 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Etymologicum (excepta e codice regio 2610), beta p. 176
Ed.
G.H.K. Koës, Orionis Thebani etymologicon (ed. F.G. Sturz), Leipzig: Weigel, 1820 (repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1973)
Quotation
Βωμός· διὰ τὸ βαίνειν τὸ αἷμα ἐν αὐτῷ
Translation (En)
Bōmos "altar", because blood (haima) goes (bainei) in it
Parallels
Etym. Parvum, beta 15 (idem); Etym. Gudianum, beta p. 292 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 217 (Βωμός: Σημαίνει δύο· τέμενος ἱερὸν ὅπου θύουσι τοῖς θεοῖς, παρὰ τὸ βῶ, τὸ βαίνω, ὁ βεβηκὼς καὶ ἱδρυμένος τοῖς θεοῖς πρὸς θυσίαν· ἐπιτίθεται γὰρ τὰ ἱερὰ παρ’ αὐτῷ· ἢ παρὰ τὸ βαίνειν τὸ αἷμα ἐν αὐτῷ. Δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν βάσιν, ὡς παρὰ Ὁμήρῳ, "Ἅρματα δ’ ἀμβωμοῖσι τίθει." Παρὰ τὸ βῶ, ὅπου τὰ τιθέμενα βέβηκε)
Modern etymology
Βωμός is derived from PIE *gweh2- "to go", found in ἔβην, βῆμα. It goes back to *gwoh2mo- "step" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
Βωμός is used in Modern Greek to designate: 1. the 'altar' for sacrifices in ancient cultures, 2. the altar of Christian churches, 3. metaph. the purpose for which any person sacrifices something
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
This etymology aims at accounting for the specific meaning "altar", which was the usual meaning of βωμός in koine Greek. It keeps from the older etymology the link with βαίνω, but it adds a precision by parsing the word as a compound, which provides a motivation for the second syllable, supposedly that of αἷμα "blood". The altar is thus defined as "in which blood flows", βαίνω being understood here as a cover-term for every motion verb (the fact that αἷμα cannot be the subject of a verb like βαίνω is not taken into account). This definition fits the pagan sacrifice