λάβρος
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Καρῖδες […] ἄλκιμον ὤλεσαν ἰχθύν,/ λάβρακα, σφετέρῃσιν ἐπικλέα λαβροσύνῃσιν
Translation (En)
Prawns […] by their craft they destroy a valiant fish, even the labrax (“basse”) named for its labrosunē (“gluttony”)
Parallels
Athen. 7.310e (<λάβρακες>. οὗτοι, ὡς <Ἀριστοτέλης> ἱστορεῖ, μονήρεις εἰσὶ καὶ σαρκοφάγοι. γλῶσσαν δ' ἔχουσιν ὀστώδη καὶ προσπεφυκυῖαν, καρδίαν τρίγωνον ... ὠνομάσθη δ' ὁ ἰχθὺς παρὰτὴν λαβρότητα); Scholia in Aristophanem, Scholia in Equites 361a.1 Jones/Wilson (<ἀλλ' οὐ λάβρακας:> λάβραξ εἶδος ἰχθύος <λάβρου>, ἀφ' οὗ ποιεῖται τὴν προσηγορίαν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 354 (Ἔστιν οὖν παρὰ τὸ λάβρως ἐσθίειν· ἀδηφάγον γὰρ ἐστὶ τὸ ζῷον, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Ὀππιανὸς ἐν τοῖς Ἁλιευτικοῖς) ; Eustathius, Comm. Il. 3, p. 829.18-19 (τὸν Μιλήσιον λάβρακα, ὃν ἡ ἐν τῷ ἐσθίειν λαβρότης παράγει)
Bibliography
R. Strömberg, Studien zur Etymologie und Bildung der griechischen Fischnamen, 1943 : 34
Comment
Descriptive etymology. The word is linked either to the noun (λαβροσύνη) or to the adjective (λάβρος, violent/greedy). An alternative etymon is βορά (food). This etymology might be already mentioned by Philoxenus (1 BC) according to Theodoridis who ascribes to him a definition appearing in Etym. Magnum (see parallels): λάβραξ· παρὰ τὸ λάβρως ἐσθίειν· ἀδηφάγον γάρ ἐστι τὸ ζῷον (fr. 534*). The word λάβρος itself derived from λάπτω ("lap greedily") according to Philoxenus (fr. 534*) : λάβρος· παρὰ τὸ λάπτω. οὕτω Φιλόξενος