θάλπω

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Mon, 11/15/2021 - 14:05

Word-form

τάπης

Transliteration (Word)

tapēs

English translation (word)

carpet, rug

Transliteration (Etymon)

thalpō

English translation (etymon)

to heat

Author

Herodian?

Century

2 AD

Reference

De Prosodia catholica, Lentz III/1, p. 108

Edition

A. Lentz, Grammatici graeci, vol. III/2, Leipzig 1870.

Source

Epimerismi homerici

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, lambda 38

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

ἐγένετο δὲ ἔλλειψις, ὡς παρὰ τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς ἡ σίφη ἐκ τοῦ σίλφη παρ’ ἡμῖν λεγομένη ὡς καὶ ὁ τάπης παρὰ τὸ θάλπη, εἴ γε παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν ἡ χλαίνη

Translation (En)

There was a deletion, as in Attic siphē from what we call silphē "cockroach", and also tapēs "carpet" from thalpō "to heat", if the word khlainē "coat" comes from khliainein "to warm"

Comment

The fact that this etymology is found both in the Epimerismi and, according to the Et. Magnum, in Orion (see Parallels) makes it likely that it comes from Herodian. The name of the carpet is derived from the verb meaning "to warm", which implies the deletion of [l] and a change of the articulation of the initial consonant which becomes voiceless, because of an analogical reasoning. Since the name of the coat, χλαῖνα, was generally derived in Antiquity from χλιαίνω "to warm", then any name of a piece of cloth used as a cover or blanket, which has the same function, can come from a verb meaning "to warm". For τάπης, the closest verb with that meaning was θάλπω. This is an etymology e synonymo, parallel to the more frequent etymology ex antonymo and using the same four-member system; if "piece of cloth 1" comes from "to heat 1", then "piece of cloth 2" comes from "to heat 2". The etymology was designed for χλαῖνα, and the adaptation to τάπης leads to more important formal changes.

Parallels

Etym. Gudianum, tau, p. 521 (Τάπης, παρὰ τὸ θάλπω θάλπης, καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ λ, καὶ μεταθέσει τοῦ θ εἰς τ, τάπης· σημαίνει δὲ τὸ ἐπεύχιον, ἤγουν ταπῆτον); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 746 (Τάπητες: Ἐπιβόλαια, ἢ στρώματα. Οὕτως Ἀριστοφάνης. Ἐτυμολογεῖ δὲ αὐτὸ Ὠρίων παρὰ τὸ θάλπω, θάλπης· καὶ μεταθέσει τοῦ θ εἰς τ, καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ λ, τάπης. Ἢ δάπης καὶ τάπης. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ θάπτω, θάφης καὶ τάπης· ἢ παρὰ τὸ πατῶ, πάτης καὶ τάπης); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 4, 894 Van der Valk (Οἱ δὲ τάπητες πολλαχοῦ φαίνονται ὑποκεῖσθαι κατά τι εἶδος στρωμνῆς, ὁποῖα ἴσως καὶ τὰ καλούμενα ἐπεύχια. διὸ καὶ ἡ πολλὴ ἐτυμολογία ἐκ τοῦ πατεῖσθαι αὐτὰ παράγει. εἰ δέ τις μάθοι ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς τὸ «δέμνια θεῖναι καὶ ῥήγεα ἐμβαλεῖν στορέσαι τ’ ἐφύπερθε τάπητας» ἕτερόν τι νοήσει τοὺς τάπητας, οὓς οἱ παλαιοὶ μεταβολεῖς τῶν λέξεων ἓν πρὸς ἓν φράζοντες ἐφαπλώματα ἑρμηνεύουσι, συγκροτούμενοι ἐκ τοῦ «ἐφύπερθεν». καὶ ἀργεῖ ἐνταῦθα ἡ ἐκ τοῦ πατεῖν ἐτυμολογία. κρεῖττον δὲ ἢ ἐκ τοῦ θάλπω εἰπεῖν κατὰ τοὺς παλαιοὺς θάλπης, καὶ μεταθέσει Ἰωνικῇ καὶ ἐκβολῇ τοῦ λ, τάπης, ἢ ἐκ τοῦ ταφών, ὁ ἐκπλαγεὶς τάφης καὶ τάπης ὁ τὸν ὁρῶντα ἐκπλήττων); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, tau, p. 1709 (Τάπητας. ἐπιβόλαια ἢ στρώματα. παρὰ τὸ θάλπω, θάλπις, καὶ μεταθέσει τοῦ θ εἰς τ, καὶ ἀποβολῇ τοῦ λ, τάπις)

Modern etymology

Probably a loanword. The Latin word tapēte was borrowed from Greek (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has τάπητας as: 1. a learned word for 'rug', the usual word being χαλί, 2. designating anything which covers a big surface from one edge to another. It is a calque from French "tapis" (see also ταπετσαρία). Popular phrase: "θέτω επί τάπητος".

Entry By

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