εἷς + εἴκω2
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
νίκη: παρὰ τὴν ἑνί δοτικὴν καὶ εἴκω τὸ ὑποχωρῶ γίνεται ἑνιείκη καὶ κατὰ ἀποβολὴν τῶν δύο εε καὶ κράσει τῶν δύο ιι γίνεται νίκη οἱονεὶ ἡ ἑνὶ ὑποχωροῦσα, ὡς καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς δηλοῖ λέγων «ἑτεραλκέα νίκην» τὴν ἑτεροκλινῆ. τινὲς δὲ σχηματίζουσιν οὕτως. παρὰ τὸ νη στερητικὸν καὶ τὸ εἴκω τὸ ὑποχωρῶ οἱονεὶ ὁ μηδενὶ ὑποχωρῶν. κακῶς δὲ λέγουσιν. ἀντίκειται γὰρ αὐτῷ ἡ γραφή
Translation (En)
Nikē "victory": from the dative heni "to one" and eikō "to give way", one obtains *henieikē, and through dropping of the two [e] and contraction of the two [ii] comes nikē "victory", the one which gives way to only one, as it were, as Homer shows when he says heteralkea nikēn "victory giving force to one of the two <belligerants>" for the one which leans toward one side. But some construct it as follows: from the privative prefix nē- and the verb eikō "to give way", as though it were giving way to nobody. But they are wrong, and spelling opposes that.
Parallels
Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, kappa 154, s.v. κτείς (καὶ τὸ χείρ δὲ ἀφαίρεσιν ἔχει τοῦ ε καὶ νίκη, ἑνιείκη τις οὖσα, ἡ ἑνὶ εἴκουσα.); ibid., nu 14 (⸤νικᾷς (Β 370): ἐκ τοῦ νίκη. τὸ νι ι· ἐκ τοῦ⸥ ἑν⸤ί⸥ καὶ τοῦ εἴκω, τὸ ὑποχωρῶ· ἡ ὑποχωροῦσά τινι τὴν νίκην, ἤγουν τὸν στέφανον· γέγονεν ἐνιίκη καὶ κ⸤ράσει⸥ τῶν δύο ιι εἰς ι μακρὸν γίνεται νίκη ἀποβ⸤ολῇ τοῦ ε, καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ νικῶ συζυγίας δευτέρας τῶν περισπωμένων⸥); ibid., chi 30 (χειρός: κατὰ ἀφαίρεσιν τοῦ ε γέγονε παρὰ τὸ ἔχειν, ὡς παρὰ τὸ ἑνὶ εἴκειν κατὰ Σιμωνίδην (PMG 519, fr. 79 [c] 2) νίκη); Etym. Gudianum, nu p. 409 (Νίκη, παρὰ τὴν ἑνὶ δοτικὴν καὶ τὸ εἴκω, ἡ ἑνὶ ὑποχωροῦσα· καὶ Ὅμηρος, ‘ἑτεραλκέα νίκην’· τοῦτ’ ἔστιν ἑτεροκλινῆ); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 2, 389 (διὸ καὶ ἡ νίκη παρὰ τὸ ἑνὶ εἴκειν γίνεται, ὃ δὴ ἑτεραλκείας ἐστίν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 605-606 (Νίκη: Ἢ παρὰ τὴν ἑνὶ δοτικὴν καὶ τὸ ἵκω, τὸ παραγίνομαι, γίνεται ἑνιΐκη· καὶ κράσει τῶν βʹ ΙΙ εἰς ἓν μακρὸν, νίκη, ἀποβολῇ τοῦ ε· καὶ γὰρ πολλάκις πέφυκεν ἀποβάλλειν κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τὸ ε· οἷον, ἐρύω, ἐρυτῆρες, ῥυτῆρες· ἔχω, ἐχεὶρ, χείρ […] Ἢ παρὰ τὴν ἑνὶ δοτικὴν καὶ τὸ εἴκω, τὸ ὑποχωρῶ, γίνεται ἑνιείκη· καὶ κατὰ ἀποβολὴν τῶν δύο ΕΕ, καὶ κράσει τῶν δύο ΙΙ, γίνεται νίκη, οἱονεὶ ἡ ἑνὶ ὑποχωροῦσα· ὡς καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς δηλοῖ λέγων, ‘ἑτεραλκέα νίκην’, τὴν ἑτεροκλινῆ. Τινὲς δὲ σχηματίζουσιν οὕτω· παρὰ τὸ ΝΗ στερητικὸν καὶ τὸ εἴκω, τὸ ὑποχωρῶ, οἱονεὶ ὁ μηδενὶ ὑποχωρῶν. Κακῶς δὲ λέγουσιν· ἀντίκειται γὰρ αὐτῷ ἡ γραφή); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, nu, p. 1401-1402 (Νίκη. παρὰ τὸ ἑνὶ δοτικῇ καὶ τὸ εἴκω, τὸ ὑποχωρῶ, γέγονεν ἑνιείκη, καὶ ἀποβολῇ τῶν δύο εε, τοῦ τε ἐν ἀρχῇ καὶ τοῦ μέσου, καὶ κατὰ κρᾶσιν τῶν δύο ιι εἰς ἓν, δηλονότι μακρὸν, νίκη, οἷον ἡ ἑνὶ ὑποχωροῦσα. ὡς καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς λέγει· ‘ἑτεραλκέα νίκην’. [ἄλλοι δὲ, παρὰ τὸ νη στερητικὸν καὶ τοῦ εἴκω γέγονε νίκη, κατ’ ἔκθλιψιν τοῦ ε, ἡ μηδενὶ ὑποχωροῦσα. ἀλλ’ ἀντίκειται αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡ ἀποβολὴ καὶ ἡ γραφή· ἡ γραφὴ μὲν, ὅτι νίκη διὰ τοῦ ι γράφεται, καὶ ὤφειλε γράφεσθαι διὰ τῆς ει διφθόγγου, ἡ ἀποβολὴ δὲ, ὅτι οὐδέποτε τὸ νη ἐπίῤῥημα ἀποβάλλει τὸ η, οἷον νήδυμος]
Comment
Contextual etymology inferred from a Homeric phrase, ἕτεραλκέα νίκην (Il. 7.26), which implies that victory goes to one only of two camps. Hence the idea that the initial [n] is the remnant of ἑνί, dative of εἷς, which provides a syllable [ni], and that victory is the fact that the one gives way to the other. Then a formal manipulation is required, dropping the initial and internal [e], and a contraction of [ii] yielding the long [ī] of νίκη. This etymology is adduced against a competing etymology through the privative prefix, found in Plutarch (see νίκη / νη- + εἴκω), which is rejected not for semantic reasons but for formal ones (spelling). The main difference between the two etymologies is that νη- + εἴκω defines νίκη from the point of view of the winner, which is expected (he did not give way to his adversary), whereas ἑνὶ εἴκω defines νίκη from the point of view of the Victory, abstract entity conceding the victory to the winner