ἀείρω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
δεῖπνον: τρισὶ τροφαῖς ἐχρῶντο οἱ παλαιοί. καὶ τὴν μὲν πρώτην ἐκάλουν ἄριστον, ἣν ἐλάμβανον πρωΐας σχεδὸν ἔτι σκοτίας οὔσης· καὶ ὠνόμασται ἄριστον ἢ παρὰ τὸ λαμβάνειν αὐτὸ πρὶν εἰς ἀριστείαν προέρχεσθαι, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ προφέρεσθαι ταύτην πρώτην τροφήν, παρὰ τὸ ἄειρε, „μή μοι οἶνον ἄειρε“ (Ζ 264). τὴν δὲ δευτέραν δεῖπνον, τὸ καθ’ ἡμᾶς ἄριστον· καὶ ἔστι κατὰ τὸ ἔτυμον δεῖπνον, μεθ’ ὃ δεῖ πονεῖν· λαβόντες γὰρ ταύτην τὴν τροφὴν πάλιν περὶ τὰ πολεμικὰ ἔργα ἐπόνουν. τὸ δὲ τρίτον δόρπον, τὸ καθ’ ἡμᾶς δεῖπνον· καὶ ἔστι κατὰ τὸ ἔτυμον ἰαύερπον, ὅταν εἰς τὸ ἰαύειν πορευώμεθα, ὅ ἐστι κοιμᾶσθαι, ἢ παρὰ τὸ παῦσιν ἔχειν τοῦ δόρατος
Translation (En)
Deipnon "dinner". The Ancients used to have three meals. They called the first one ariston "breakfast", which they had at dawn, while it was still dark; and it was called ariston either because they had it before they went to accomplish their prowess (eis aristeian), or because this was the first meal that was brought to them, from aeirō "to lift", as in „μή μοι οἶνον ἄειρε“ (Il. 6.264) "don't serve wine to me"; the second one was called deipnon, which is for us the first meal of the day, and etymologically it is the one after which one must toil (deî poneîn); having eaten that meal, they used to go back to fight. The third one was called dorpon, which is for us the deipnon "dinner", and etymologically it comes from *iauerpon, when we prepare to go to bed, or from the cessation of fighting (lit. "of the spear")
Parallels
Schol. Od. β 20f Pontani (δόρπον: τὸ καθ’ ἡμᾶς δεῖπνον. τρισὶ δὲ τροφαῖς ἐχρῶντο. καὶ τὴν μὲν πρώτην ἐκάλουν ἄριστον, ἣν ἐλάμβανον πρωΐας σχεδὸν ἔτι σκοτίας οὔσης· καὶ ὠνομάσθη ἄριστον ἢ παρὰ τὸ λαμβάνοντας αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀριστείαν προέρχεσθαι, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσφέρεσθαι ταύτην πρώτην τὴν τροφήν, παρὰ τὸ ἄειρε ὠνομασμένης τῆς λέξεως· “μή μοι οἶνον ἄειρε μελίφρονα, πότνια μῆτερ” [Ζ 264]); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, delta p. 375 (idem)
Comment
This weird etymology is inferred from a Homeric line where ἀείρω "to lift" is used with the meaning "to offer" wine (because one has to lift the vase before pouring the drink). As ἀείρω was contracted in Attic into αἴρω (which is also the form in koine Greek), the verb had a vague similarity with ἄριστον, which refers also to food. It is found only in the Homeric scholia, both to the Iliad and the Odyssey. The fact that this contextual meaning of ἀείρω can be found when the object refers to a drink only, not when it refers to solid food where nothing has to be "lifted", did not seem to be noticed by the scholiasts.