ἑλεῖν
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
λίς
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
lis
English translation (word)
lion
Transliteration (Etymon)
helein
English translation (etymon)
to seize
Century
before 6 AD
Source
Scholia vetera in Homeri Iliadem
Ref.
A scholion Il. 15.275b
Ed.
H. Erbse, Scholia Graeca in Homeri Iliadem (scholia vetera), vols. 1-5, 7, Berlin: De Gruyter, 1969-1988
Quotation
λίς: παρὰ τὸ λιαρόν, ἢ τὸ ἑλεῖν, ἢ τὸ λεῖον· λεῖος γὰρ ὅλος πλὴν τῆς χαίτης. ἢ παρὰ τὸ λίαν φθείρειν. A b (BCE3)T
Translation (En)
Lis "lion": from liaros "warm", or from heleîn "to seize", or from leios "smooth", because the animal is entirely smooth except for the mane. Or from the fact that it destroys a lot (lian phtheirein).
Parallels
There is no parallel
Modern etymology
Rare poetic form, thought to be a loanword from Semitic (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
No
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
This etymology refers to the predator status of the lion. It implies an ioticizing pronunciation of the infinitive ἑλεῖν as [elin], from which one could draw the accusative λίν [lin] through removal of the initial [e]. The form λίς was Deemed Aeolic by Greek scholars (D scholion Il. 17.109).