ἀ- + γωνία
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
ὅτι ἀγὼν καὶ ἀγωνία ὁ τόπος λέγεται διὰ τὸ κυκλοτερές, παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν γωνίαν, ἧς εἰς τύπον καὶ στέφανοι κυκλοτερεῖς τοῖς νικῶσιν ἐπετίθεντο
Translation (En)
Since the place is called agon and agonia on account of its being round —because it has "no corner" (gonia)— in accordance with this shape, circular garlands used to be placed on the winners (transl. Mischa Hooker)
Parallels
Eustathius, Comm. Il. 4, 857 Van der Valk (ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ ἀγὼν ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄγω, ἢ ἀπὸ Ἀγώνου, ἡνιόχου, φασί, Πέλοπος, ἢ παρὰ τὴν <α> στέρησιν καὶ τὴν γωνίαν ἀγών, οἱονεὶ τόπος κυκλοτερής, γωνίαν οὐκ ἔχων καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εὐρύς); bT Scholion Il. 24.1 (Erbse 24.1b) (ἀγὼν δὲ ὁ κυκλοτερὴς καὶ γωνίαν οὐκ ἔχων τόπος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 15, 54 (Ἐγὼ δὲ εὗρον τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐτυμολογούμενον οὕτως. Ἀγὼν λέγεται ὁ κυκλοτερὴς καὶ γωνίαν οὐκ ἔχων τόπος); Scholia in Anthologiam Graecam, 1 Lolos (Ἀγών, παρὰ τὸ ἄγω· ὁ φέρων πολλὴν ὄχλησιν, ἢ ὁ κυκλοτερὴς καὶ γωνίαν μὴ ἔχων τόπος)
Comment
This etymology (that considers the first letter as a privative alpha) suggests that the original meaning of agōn is a spatial one. Etym. Magnum (15, 45) lists five meanings for the word, the first one being precisely ὁ τόπος (then τὸ πλῆθος τῶν θεατῶν, τὸ ἄθροισμα, τὸ ἆθλον, ὁ ναός). The word ἀγωνία is correctly given as a synonym of ἀγών, and provides through its identical ending an easy link to γωνία. In Eustathius (Comm. Il. 4.857 Van der Valk) we find a marginal etymology connecting agōn with the name of the chariot-driver of Pelops named Agōn (ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ ἀγὼν ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄγω, ἢ ἀπὸ Ἀγώνου, ἡνιόχου, φασί, Πέλοπος; it probably comes from a scholion, see Scholia in Iliadem, Scholia vetera bT Erbse (οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πέλοπος ἡνιόχου Ἀγῶνος)