ἀ + λάω1
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Reference
Edition
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
ἀλαός· ὁ τυφλός, κατὰ στέρησιν τοῦ λάειν ἢ βλέπειν. παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ (τ 230)· „λάε νεβρὸν ἀπάγχων“.
Translation (En)
Alaos "blind" comes from the privation (sterēsin) of sight (tou laein) or vision. Homer (Od. 19.230) „λάε νεβρὸν ἀπάγχων“
Parallels
Philoxenus, fr. 137 (ἔστι λάω τὸ σημαῖνον τὸ θεωρῶ, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ἀλαός, ὁ τυφλός, οἱονεὶ ὁ ἐστερημένος τοῦ λάειν, ἤγουν τοῦ βλέπειν); Apollonius Soph., Lexicon hom. p. 21(ἀλαός τυφλός· “καί κ’ ἀλαὸς τόδε ξεῖνε διακρίνειε τὸ σῆμα.” εἴρηται δὲ κατὰ τὸ ἀλᾶσθαι τὴν πορείαν, οὐχ ὡς ἔνιοι, παρὰ τὸ μὴ λάειν, ὅ ἐστι βλέπειν); Aristonicus, De signis Odysseae, in Schol. Od. 19.229 (ἀσπαίροντα λάων. †) ὁ μὲν Ἀρίσταρχος ἀπολαύων, ἀπολαυστικῶς ἔχων. ὁ δὲ Κράτης λάων φησὶν ἀντὶ τοῦ βλέπων· ὅθεν κατὰ στέρησιν ἀλαὸς ὁ τυφλός); Herodian, De prosodia catholica, Lentz II/1, p. 112 (ἀλαός ὁ περιπλανώμενος. Σέλευκος δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἀλάσαι, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ἐλαττῶσαι ἵν’ ᾖ τὸ ἐλαττωθεὶς τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. ἄλλοι δὲ ὁ τυφλὸς καὶ ἐστερημένος τοῦ λάειν ἤτοι βλέπειν); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, alpha 319 (ἀλαός: ὁ τυφλός, ὁ ἐστερημένος τοῦ λάειν, ἤτοι βλέπειν. †Ἀρίσταρχος τὸ παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ ‘ἀσπαίροντα λάων’ (τ 229) οὕτως ἐξηγεῖται· „ἀντὶ τοῦ βλέπων“. Ἡρωδιανὸς δὲ (1, 112, 10 = 2, 898, 39) παρὰ τὸ ἀλῶ, τὸ πλανῶμαι, ἀλαός, ὁ περιπλανώμενος. Σέλευκος δὲ (p. 43 [θ 195] Mueller) παρὰ τὸ ἀλάσαι, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ἐλαττῶ<σαι>, {καὶ} ἵν’ ᾖ ὁ ἐλαττωθεὶς τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 397 (Ἀλαός (θ 195)· ὁ τυφλός, ὁ ἐστερημένος τοῦ λάειν, ὅ ἐστι βλέπειν· Ὅμηρος (τ 229)· ‘ἀσπαίροντα λάων’, ἀντὶ τοῦ βλέποντα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀλῶ, τὸ πλανῶ, ἀλαός, ὁ περιπλανώμενος. ἢ παρὰ τὸ † ἀλᾶσσαι, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ἐλαττῶσαι, ὁ ἐλαττωθεὶς τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 57 (idem); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, 254 (idem); Suda, alpha 1071 (Ἀλαός: ὁ τυφλός. κατὰ στέρησιν τοῦ λάειν, ὅ ἐστι βλέπειν); Suda, lambda 35 (Λάειν: βλέπειν. καὶ ἀλαός, ὁ τυφλός); Etym. Gudianum, lambda, p. 367 (Λέων, ἔστι δὲ λάω, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ θεωρῶ, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ ἀλαὸς τὸ σημαῖνον τὸν τυφλὸν, οἱονεὶ ὁ ἐστερημένος τοῦ λάειν); ibid., mu, p. 385 (Μέλαν παρὰ τὸ μὴ καὶ τὸ λάειν, τὸ μὴ βλέπειν, ὅθεν ἀλαὸς ὁ τυφλὸς, καὶ· ὁ μὲν λάε νεβρὸν ἀπάγχων); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 3, 238 Van der Valk (Εἰ δὲ προαναφαινομένου τοῦ ἄλφα ἐν τῷ λάειν, ὅθεν καὶ ἀλαός, ὁ τυφλός, […]); Eustathius, Comm. Od. 1, 21 (εἴπερ ἀλαὸς ὁ μὴ λάων ἤγουν ὁ μὴ βλέπων); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 116 (Ἀλαός. ὁ τυφλὸς ἢ ὁ πλανώμενος. Ὅμηρος· ‘ἀσπαίροντα λάων’, ἀντὶ τοῦ βλέπων. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀλῶ, τὸ πλανῶ, ἀλαὸς ὁ πλανώμενος); ibid., lambda, p. 1293 (Λέων. παρὰ τὸ λάω, τὸ βλέπω. ἐξ οὗ καὶ ἀλαὸς, ὁ ἐστερημένος τοῦ βλέπειν)
Comment
As many words with initial a-, this one is parsed as a privative compound which, given the meaning of ἀλαός "blind", was fairly natural, blindness being indeed a privation. The second element is identified as λάω, a verb of unclear meaning which has good chances to be a creation of epic singers on the basis of an old misanalysed form, and the meaning "to see" which is ascribed to it in synchrony comes probably from the comparison with ἀλαός parsed ἀ-λαός, so that this meaning is not reliable and the etymological explanation is circular. The meaning "to see" is attested in dactylic poetry (H. Merc. 360) and in lexicographers (Hesychius) but that is a consequence of the interpretation of λάω as "to see" in Homer and cannot prove the authenticity of the verb. The scholion to the Odyssey by Aristonicus (see Parallels) explains that the meaning "to see" was that retained for λάω by Crates of Mallos (2 BC), but the formulation does not imply that Crates derived ἀλαός from λάω (see Parallels) – if he did, which is plausible, the etymology would be older than Philoxenus