ψαίρω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Αἰψηρήν: ἀντὶ τοῦ αἰψηρῶς, ταχέως. ‘λῦσαν δ’ ἀγορὴν αἰψηρήν’ (Il. 19.276). οὐκ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς. καὶ αἰψηρός, ὁ ταχύς. ἀπὸ τοῦ ψαίρειν, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ταχύνειν.
Translation (En)
Aipsērēn "speedy": instead of aipsērōs "speedily": ‘they dismissed quickly the assembly’ (Il. 19.276); aipsērēn does not refer (as adjective) to the assembly. And aipsēros, the speedy one. From psairein, which means "to hasten"
Parallels
Suda, psi 28 (Ψαρόν: εἶδος χρωμάτων. Ψαρὸς γὰρ ἵππος ὁ τὸ χρῶμα τοιοῦτος. ἢ ὁ ταχύς· ἀπὸ τοῦ ψαίρειν. ἔνθεν καὶ αἰψηρός); ibid., psi 34 (Ψαίρειν: τὸ ταχύνειν. ἔνθεν καὶ αἰψηρός); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 73 (Αἰψηρός. ταχὺς, ἀπὸ τοῦ ψαίρειν, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ταχύνειν); ibid., psi, p. 1869 (Ψαίρειν. †τὸ τινάσσειν.† τὸ ταχύνειν. ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰψηρὸς, ὁ ταχύς. σημαίνει δὲ καὶ τὸ †ψαύειν καὶ τὸ†κινεῖν); Gennadius Scholarius, Grammatica, 2, p. 497 (ψαίρω, τὸ ταχύνω καὶ τὸ ψαύω καὶ κινῶ, ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰψηρός, ὁ ταχύς, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ σπαίρω· δίφθογγον); Scholia vetera in Aristophanem, Nubes 1225b (τὸν ψαρὸν ἵππον: τὸν τὸ χρῶμα τοιοῦτον. ἢ τὸν ταχύν, ἀπὸ τοῦ ψαίρειν· ὅθεν καὶ αἰψηρός)
Comment
This etymology implies a formal manipulation, not explicitly mentioned, a metathesis of the diphthong [ai] and the consonant [ps]: psai- > aips-. The verbal form provides the [r] of -ρος. The semantic justification is rather far-fetched for ψαίρω means "to brush lightly, to touch gently", not "to hasten": the implicit assumption is that someone running speedily seems not to touch the ground, so to speak, and to brush against it. The etymology is reversible, and the reverse derivation of ψαίρω from αἰψηρός is also attested (see Parallels)