αὔρα
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
ἄριστον
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
ariston
English translation (word)
morning meal, breakfast
Transliteration (Etymon)
aura
English translation (etymon)
breeze
Century
1-2 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Quaestiones convivales 726d
Ed.
C. Hubert, Plutarchi moralia, vol. 4, Leipzig: Teubner, 1938 (repr. 1971)
Quotation
…καὶ πιθανὸν ἐδόκει διὰ τὴν ἑωθινὴν αὔραν ἄριστον ὠνομάσθαι, καθάπερ τὸ αὔριον
Translation (En)
It seemed likely to us that the word ariston ("morning meal") was derived from morning aura (“breeze”) as is aurion (« to-morrow ») (transl. Edwin L. Minar, F. H. Sandbach, W. C. Helmbold, Loeb CL)
Parallels
There are no parallels
Modern etymology
Ἄριστον belongs probably with αὔριον and the derivatives of "dawn" (contra Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
No
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
This etymology relies on the metonymic link between ἄριστον "breakfast" and αὔριον "tomorrow", and since the latter is analyzed as a derivative from αὔρα "(morning) breeze", so must be ἄριστον, although it is formally less close to the etymon. Αὔρα means "breeze" in general, but is often used in Homer for the morning breeze, which is its etymological meaning. The etymology implies a formal manipulation, dropping of the [u]