ἕπομαι + ὥρα

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Last modification

Mon, 10/31/2022 - 19:00

Word-form

ὀπώρα

Transliteration (Word)

opōra

English translation (word)

end of summer

Transliteration (Etymon)

hepomai + hōra

English translation (etymon)

to follow + season

Author

Heraclides Ponticus the Younger

Century

2 AD

Source

Orion

Ref.

Etymologicum, omicron, p. 119

Ed.

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

Quotation

Ὀπώρα. παρὰ τὸ ἕπεσθαι τῇ ὥρᾳ. Ἡρακλείδης οὕτω

Translation (En)

Opōra "end of the summer": from the fact that it "follows" (hepesthai) the "season" (hōra). So says Heraclides

Comment

The connection of ὀπώρα with ὥρα "season" is probably much older than Heraclides and can be suspected in many co-occurrences of the two words. It is not clear whether Heraclides really understood the first element of the compound as the verb ἕπομαι or as the preposition ἐπί "after", which he explained as "following"

Parallels

Etym. Parvum, omicron 10 (Ὀπώρα· παρὰ τὸ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἕπεσθαι ἤγουν ἐπακολουθεῖν); Etym. Gudianum, omicron, p. 432 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 628 (Ὀπώρα: Παρὰ τὸ ἕπεσθαι τῇ ὥρᾳ)

Modern etymology

Ὀπώρα is an old compound of ὀπί (variant of ἐπί) + an old name of the autumn *h1os-r/n-, cognate with Goth. asans "harvest", Rus. osen' "autumn" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has οπώρα and οπωρικά (plural of οπωρικό) as a learned word for "fruit". There also are many compounds as οπωροπωλείο and preserves the compound φθινόπωρο "autumn".

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