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EtygramEtymologies Grecques Antiques et Médiévales
Ancient and Medieval Greek Etymologies

γέρων

Word

γέρων

Validation

Yes

Word-form

γέροντες

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ-1 .

LSJ-2

Transliteration (Word)

gerōn

English translation (word)

old man

Transliteration (Etymon)

gē + rheō

English translation (etymon)

earth + to flow, run

Author

Plutarchus

Century

1-2 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Quaestiones convivales 650c

Ed.

C. Hubert, Plutarchi moralia, vol. 4, Leipzig: Teubner, 1938 (repr. 1971)

Quotation

οἱ δὲ γέροντες ὅτι μέν εἰσιν ἐνδεεῖς ἰκμάδος οἰκείας, τοὔνομά μοι δοκεῖ φράζειν πρῶτον· οὐ γὰρ ὡς ῥέοντες εἰς γῆν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς γεώδεις καὶ γεηροί τινες ἤδη γινόμενοι τὴν ἕξιν οὕτω προσαγορεύονται.

Translation (En)

But that old men want the natural moisture, even the name γέροντες, in my opinion, intimates; for that name was given them not as inclining to the earth (ῥέοντες εἰς γῆν), but as being in the habit of their body γεώδεις and γεηροί, earthlike and earthy (transl. Goodwin)

Comment

This etymology is quoted to be rejected, meaning that it is older than Plutarch, although not attested in our sources. The word is parsed as a compound on the same model as γῆρας "old age", for which the same etymology is attested (see γῆρας / γῆ + ῥέω). The etymology was clearly designed for γῆρας because γῆ fits it better than it fits γέρων, but since old man (γέρων) and old age (γῆρας) are semantically related and sometimes derived from one another in Greek etymology, it was easy to apply this etymology to γέρων, too

Parallels

Epimerismi homerici Il. 1.26 (γέρον: κλητικὴ διὰ τοῦ ο. | γέγονε δὲ παρὰ τὸ εἴρω, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ λέγω· γίνεται ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔρων καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ γ γέρων, ὡς ῥέα, γρέα. καὶ ὁ ποιητής· ‘ἀλλ’ ἀγορηταὶ | ἐσθλοί’ (Γ 150–51). ἢ παρὰ τὸ γέρας, τὸ σημαῖνον τὴν τιμήν· τιμῶμεν γὰρ τοὺς γέροντας. ἢ παρὰ τὸ εἰς γῆν ὁρᾶν, διὰ τὸ κεκυφέναι. ἢ παρὰ τὸ εἰς γῆν ἔρ<χ>εσθαι. παρὰ τὸ ῥέω, τὸ φθείρω· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἰσχνότερον γήρως); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, gamma 26 (γέρων: παρὰ τὸ εἴρω, τὸ λέγω, ἔρων καὶ γέρων· λεκτικοὶ γὰρ μᾶλλον οἱ γέροντες ‘ἀλλ’ ἀγορηταὶ | ἐσθλοί, {τε}τεττίγεσσι ἐοικότες’ (Γ 150-51). οἱ δὲ πλανώμενος λέγουσιν, ὁ εἰς τὴν γῆν ὁρῶν· —ἢ εἰς τὴν γῆν ῥέων)