ῥέω

Word

Validation

Yes

Word-form

γραῦς

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ

Transliteration (Word)

graus

English translation (word)

old woman

Transliteration (Etymon)

rheō

English translation (etymon)

to flow, to run

Author

Philoxenus

Century

1 BC

Reference

fr. 460

Edition

C. Theodoridis, Die Fragmente des Grammatikers Philoxenos [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 2], Berlin: De Gruyter, 1976

Source

Orion

Ref.

Etymologicum, gamma, p. 43

Ed.

F.W. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig, 1820

Quotation

γραῦς· ῥεύσω ἐστὶ μέλλων ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥέω, <ἀποβολῇ τοῦ ω ῥεῦς> καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ γ γρεῦς καὶ γραῦς, τὸ διερρυηκὸς γύναιον, τροπῇ τοῦ ε εἰς α

Translation (En)

Graus "old woman": rheusō is the future of rheō "to flow", through loss of the omega, *rheus, and through adjunction of [g], *greus, and graus, the woman whose youth has flown away, by change of the [e] into [a]

Comment

The etymology implies three formal manipulations, loss of the ending in the future form taken as a starting point, adjunction of a consonant at the beginning of the word, and change of the vowel. Taking the future as a starting point provides the ending -s and the u-diphthong of the etymologized word. From the semantic point of view, the etymology relies on the meaning, not of the simple verb ῥέω "to flow", but of the preverbed διαρρέω "to flow away, to get lost", hence "to be exhausted". The topos of youth flowing away may have suggested this etymology

Parallels

Orion, Etymologicum (excepta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), gamma, p. 613 (γραῦς, παρὰ τὸ ῥέω ῥεύσω· ῥεύς· καὶ τροπῆ τοῦ ε εἰς α ῥαῦς καὶ προσθήκη τοῦ γ γραῦς); Epimerismi Homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, gamma 19 (γραῦς: Ἀττικῶς· ἀναλογώτερόν ἐστι τὸ γρεῦς. γίνεται δὲ παρὰ τὸ ῥέω, ὁ μέλλων ῥεύσω, καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ γ γρεύσω, καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γρεῦς καὶ γραῦς, τὸ διερρυηκὸς γύναιον, τροπῇ τοῦ ε εἰς α); ibid. gamma 27 (γέρων· […] οἱ δὲ λέγουσιν παρὰ τὸ ἔρρω ἔρων <καὶ γέρων>, ὁ ἐφθαρμένος ἤδη, ὡς παρὰ τὸ ῥέω, τὸ διαφθείρω, γραῖα, ἡ διεφθαρμένη); Etym. Gudianum, gamma, p. 321 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 240 (Γραῦς: Ἀττικῶς· ἀναλογώτερόν ἐστι τὸ γρεῦς. Ῥέω· ὁ μέλλων, ῥεύσω· πλεονασμῷ τοῦ γ, γρεύσω,   γρεὺς, τὸ διερρυηκὸς γύναιον); ibid. p. 705 (Ῥῶ: Σημαίνει ἑπτά· τὸ λέγω· (ἐξ οὗ καὶ ῥῆσις καὶ ῥῆμα, ὁ λόγος· ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔρρηκα· ὁ παθητικὸς, ἔρρημαι,) τὸ ῥέω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ῥεῖθρον· τὸ φθείρω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ῥαῦς καὶ γραῦς, ἡ διεφθαρμένη· τὸ ὁρμῶ, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ῥώσασθαι, τὸ ὁρμῆσαι· τὸ σπεύδω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ῥώσασθαι, τὸ σπουδάζειν· τὸ πράττω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ ῥέζω· τὸ ὑγιαίνω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ῥώμη)

Modern etymology

Γραῦς is connected within Greek with γέρων "old man", γῆρας "old age", and cognate with Vedic járant- "old (man)". PIE root *g̑erh2- (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

In Modern Greek the word to designate the 'old woman' is "γριά", which is also used in compounds as "γρια-". There also is the undermining diminutive γραΐδιο.

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