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EtygramEtymologies Grecques Antiques et Médiévales
Ancient and Medieval Greek Etymologies

γῆρας

Word

γῆρας

Validation

Yes

Word-form

γῆρας

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ

Transliteration (Word)

gēras

English translation (word)

old age

Transliteration (Etymon)

geras

English translation (etymon)

gift of honor

Author

Philo Judaeus

Century

1 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Quis rerum divinarum heres sit 291

Ed.

P. Wendland, Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt, vol. 3, Berlin: Reimer, 1898 (repr. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1962): 1-71

Quotation

ἵνα […] εὐβουλίαν καὶ σταθερότητα ψυχῆς ἰδόντες τὸ γέρως ἀδελφὸν καὶ παρώνυμον καλὸν γῆρας ἐπιφημίσωμέν τε καὶ μαρτυρήσωμεν

Translation (En)

So that, seing its wise mind and firm soul, we praise and witness the brother and paronym of geras "gift of honor", beautiful gēras "old age"

Comment

Philo plays here on the double meaning of παρώνυμος, the general one "which has a phonetic similarity with" and the technical one "derived from". The derivation is explicit in other later sources. This is a reversible etymology: the opposite derivation of γέρας from γῆρας is also attested (see γέρας / γῆρας). Although neither γῆρας nor γέρας are derived from the other element of the pair, the etymological connection between them is correct for modern linguists

Parallels

Orion, Etymologicum (excerpta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), gamma, p. 613 (γῆρας, παρὰ τὸ γέρας τὴν τιμήν· γῆρας γὰρ, αἰνέσιμον ἄνδρα τίθησι· τινὲς δὲ παρὰ τὸ γῆν νεύειν· ἢ ὁρᾶν); Anastasius Sin., Viae dux 2, 8 (Γῆρας, γέρας ἤγουν τιμὴ ἤ, ὅτι γῆν ὁρᾷ); Theognostus, Canones sive De orthographia 531 (Γῆρας τὸ γη η, παρὰ γὰρ τὸ γέρας· ἕπεται γὰρ τοῖς γέρουσιν ἡ τιμή); Epimerismi homerici Il. 1,29 (γῆρας: ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥέω, τὸ φθείρω, καὶ ὑπερθέσει τοῦ ε, ἔρω, ἡ μετοχὴ ἔρων καὶ προσθέσει τοῦ γ, γέρων, καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γέρας καὶ Ἰωνικῶς γῆρας. ἢ παρὰ τὸ γῶ, τὸ χωρῶ, πρὸς ὃ πάντες χωροῦμεν. | ἢ παρὰ τὸ γῆ, γῆρας· τοῦτο ἀπὸ τοῦ εἰς γῆν ὁρᾶν); Etym. Gudianum, gamma, p. 310 (Γῆρας· παρὰ τὸ εἰς γῆν ῥεῖν· ἐγγὺς γὰρ θανάτου. ἢ παρὰ τὸ γέρας, ἤγουν τιμή. ἢ <ὅτι εἰς> γῆν ὁρᾷ); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, gamma, p. 310 (Γῆρας· παρὰ τὸ γέρας, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν τιμήν· οἱ δὲ παρὰ τὸ εἰς γῆν ἔρρειν <διὰ> τὸ ἐγγὺς εἶναι θανάτου· ἢ ὁ εἰς γῆν ὁρῶν καὶ βλέπων); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, gamma, p. 435 (Γῆρας. ἡ παρακμὴ τοῦ σώματος. ἢ φθίσις σώματος φυσικῶς ὑπὸ χρόνου γινομένη. παρὰ τὸ γέρας· ἕπεται γὰρ τοῖς γέρουσιν ἡ τιμή)