σελίς

Validation

Yes

Word-form

σέλλα

Transliteration (Word)

sella

English translation (word)

seat

Transliteration (Etymon)

selis

English translation (etymon)

cross-beam, page

Author

Epimerismi homerici

Century

9 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, epsilon 52

Ed.

A.R. Dyck, Epimerismi Homerici: Pars altera. Lexicon αἱμωδεῖν [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 5.2] Berlin - New York: De Gruyter, 1995: 59-761

Quotation

καὶ ὥσπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔρεισμα γίνεται κατὰ συγκοπὴν ἕ<ρ>μα (σημαίνει δὲ τὸ στήριγμα), οὕτως ἐστὶ σελίς καὶ σημαίνει τὴν καθέδραν (ἐξ αὐτοῦ σέλλα), ἡ γενικὴ σελ{λ}ίδος καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ῥῆμα σελίζω καὶ κατὰ παραγωγὴν σέλισμα καὶ συγκοπῇ σέλμα

Translation (En)

And as from ereisma comes, through syncope, he<r>ma (it means "support"), similarly there is selis, which means "seat" (from it comes sella "seat"), the genitive is selidos, and from it is derived the verb *selizō and through derivation *selisma, and through syncope selma "deck, rowing bench"

Comment

Greek etymology provided for a word borrowed from Latin. The etymon is assumed to be σελίς "cross beam", which can refer to a row of seats in a theatre, hence the connection with σέλλα. In that etymology, σέλμα, which is proposed as etymon for σέλλα in a competing etymology, is treated as a different derivative of σελίς and not the direct source of σέλλα

Parallels

Etym. Gudianum, epsilon, p. 565 (idem)

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