σέλμα
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
σέλλα
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
sella
English translation (word)
seat
Transliteration (Etymon)
selma
English translation (etymon)
deck
Century
12 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 398
Ed.
T. Gaisford, Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford 1848
Quotation
Γίνεται παρὰ τὸ ἕω, τὸ κάθημαι, ἕημι, ἕεμαι, ἕμα· πλεονασμῷ τοῦ λ, ἕλμα· καὶ προσθέσει τοῦ σ, σέλμα· ἐξ οὗ καὶ σέλλα, καὶ σελλίον
Translation (En)
From *heō "to sit", *heēmi, *heemai, *hema. Through adjunction of [l], *helma, and through adjunction of [s] at the beginning, selma "deck". From where comes also sella "seat", and sellion "seat"
Parallels
Etym. Symeonis, epsilon 981 (ἢ ἑῶ, τὸ καθέζομαι, ἕημι ἕεμαι ἕμα· πλεονασμῷ τοῦ λ ἕλμα, προσθέσει τοῦ σ σέλμα, ἐξ οὗ καὶ σελλίον καὶ σέλλα)
Modern etymology
Loanword, borrowed from Lat. sella
Persistence in Modern Greek
Σέλα is used in Modern Greek to designate the seat on a horse's back. It derives from the Medieval σέλα, which derives from the latin "sella", with a simplified orthography (Em. Kriaras Dictionary of Medieval Vernacular Greek, vol. 19, s.v.).
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Greek etymology provided for a word which was borrowed from Latin. The Greeks were not aware of the fact that σἐλλα (Lat. sella) was a loanword and they provided an etymology as for a Greek word. The assumed etymon, σέλμα "deck" of a ship, yields σέλλα through what we would call an assimilation. This σέλμα is itself derived from a verb meaning "to sit", referring to the meaning "rowing bench" (on which rowers sit), which justifies the meaning of σέλλα