ῥαίω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ἀρίσταρχος δὲ τὸ ἀραιήν ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ ἀσθενῆ δασύνει, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ ἐπιβλαβῆ ψιλοῖ
Translation (En)
Aristarchus writes with a rough breathing araiēn "weak", but with a smooth breathing <araiēn> "causing harm"
Parallels
Herodian, De prosodia catholica, Lentz III/1, 130 (τὸ δὲ ἁραιός ὁ μὴ πυκνὸς παρὰ τὸ ῥαιός ἐν πλεονασμῷ τοῦ α, μετελθούσης τῆς δασείας τοῦ ρ εἰς τὸ α, καθὼς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥέζω καὶ ἕρδω, τὸ δὲ ῥαιός ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥαίω ῥήματος, ὃ δηλοῖ τὸ φθείρω); ibid., Lentz III/1, p. 167, ap. Etym. Genuinum, alpha 1117 = Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 134 (Ἀραιός· ῥαίω, τὸ φθείρω· γίνεται ῥαιός, καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ α ἁραιός, μετελθούσης τῆς δασείας τοῦ ρ εἰς τὸ α, ὡς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥέζω ἕρδω. οὕτως Ἡρωδιανὸς ἐν τῇ Καθόλου); ibid., Lentz III/1, p. 541 (τὸ δὲ «χεῖρα ἁραιήν» (Ε 425) δασύνεται. ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ ῥαίω ῥήματος, ὃ δηλοῖ φθείρω, γέγονε ῥαιός καὶ ἐν πλεονασμῷ τοῦ α ἁραιός μετελθούσης τῆς δασείας τοῦ ρ εἰς τὸ α, καθὼς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥέζω ἕρδω); Theognostus, Canones sive De orthographia 283 (τὸ ἀρεὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥέω ῥήματος, ὃ δηλοῖ τὸ φθείρω, γέγονε ῥεός, καὶ ἐν πλεονασμῷ τοῦ α ἀραιὸς, μετελθούσης τῆς δασείας τοῦ ρ εἰς τὸ α, καθὼς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥέζω καὶ ἔρδω· οὕτως Ἡρωδιανὸς ἐν τῇ καθόλου [= Lentz III/1, p. 130]); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 1115 (Ἀραιήν Ε 425· ἀσθενῆ, ἀδύνατον· παρὰ τὸ ῥαίω, τὸ φθείρω, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιτατικοῦ α ἀραιή, ὅθεν καὶ δασύνεται. ἔστιν ὅτε σημαίνει καὶ λεπτήν); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha, p. 183 (Ἀραιήν· ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥαίω, τὸ φθείρω, μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιτατικοῦ α ἀραιήν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 134 (Ἀραιήν: Ἀσθενῆ, ἀδύνατον· ἔστιν ὅτε σημαίνει καὶ λεπτήν· παρὰ τὸ ῥαίω, μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιτατικοῦ α, ἀραιή. Ἢ βλαβερὰν, ἢ μακρὰν, ἢ εὐκταίαν); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 168 (ἀραιήν (Ε 425)· ἀσθενῆ ἀραιή, ὅθεν καὶ δασύνεται· ἀπὸ οὖν τοῦ ῥαίω γίνεται ῥαιός καὶ ἁραιός καὶ ἁραιὴ μετελθούσης τῆς δασείας τοῦ ρ εἰς τὸ α); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 295 (Ἀραιήν. ἀσθενῆ, ἀδύνατον. ἀραιὴν χεῖρα. παρὰ τὸ ῥαίω τὸ φθείρω. [καὶ μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιτατικοῦ α ἁραιή. ὅθεν καὶ δασύνεται. ἀπὸ οὖν τοῦ ῥαίω γίνεται ῥαιὸς, καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ α ἁραιὸς καὶ ἁραιὴ, μετελθούσης τῆς δασείας τοῦ ρ εἰς τὸ α. ὡς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥέζω, ἕρδω]).
On the initial aspiration: Eustathius, Comm. Od. 1, 369 (ἀραιὴ δ’ εἴσοδός ἐστιν. ὅ ἐστι λεπτή. στενή. ὃ καὶ δασύνουσι οἱ παλαιοὶ πρὸς διαστολὴν τοῦ ἁπλῶς ἀραιοῦ); Suda, alpha 3814 (Ἀραιὴν χεῖρα: τὴν ἀσθενῆ· καὶ δασύνεται)
Comment
Aristarchus' claim that ἀραιός has a rough breathing, although it does not in Attic, is justified by an etymological analysis which is not mentioned in the scholion, but is preserved in Herodian and in lexicographical sources (see Parallels). The reason is that it is derived from ῥαίω "to destroy", which has an initial aspiration as any word beginning with [r]. Herodian explains that after the adjunction of [a], the aspiration passed on from the [rh] to the [a]. The initial [a] is described as a πλεονασμός or understood as the intensive alpha (Etym. Genuinum). The mention of the initial aspiration is repeated down to Byzantine times. Herodian invoked a parallel, ἔρδω which he derives from ῥέζω: maybe this parallel was already found in Aristarchus. Getting rid of the alleged rough breathing in ἔρδω through psilosis was easy in so far as it is a Homeric form. From the semantic point of view, the adjective "thin" is brought back to an etymon meaning "to break, to destroy", the etymon being the cause and the lemma the result of the process.