ἀνατιτράω

Validation

No

Word-form

ἄντρον

Transliteration (Word)

antron

English translation (word)

cave

Transliteration (Etymon)

anatitraō

English translation (etymon)

to pierce

Author

Epimerismi homerici

Century

9 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, alpha 350

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

ἄντρον: ἀνάτορόν τι ὄν, τὸ ἀνατετρημένον. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄνθος ἀνθηρόν ἄνθρον καὶ ἄντρον· λειμωνι<ά>δων γὰρ νυμφῶν ἐνδιαίτημα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄντομαι, τὸ ἱκετεύω· ‘ἅζετο δ’ ἀντομένην Ἥραν’ (Ap. Rh. 3, 77) καὶ ‘ἀλλ’ ἀντόμεθα πρὸς Ζηνὸς Ὀλυμπίου’ (fr. trag. adesp. 145a; SH 1018)· ἐν ἄντροις γὰρ τοὺς θεοὺς ἱκέτευον, ἱερὰ τὰ σπήλαια ἡγούμενοι.

Translation (En)

Antron "cave": an *anatoron, as it were, that which is pierced (anatetrēmenon). Or from anthos "flower", anthēron "flowery" and antron: because it is the residence of the meadow nymphs. Or from antomai "to implore" : ‘She was awestruck to see Hera beseeching her’ (Ap. Rh., Arg. 3.77, transl. Race, Loeb) and ‘let us turn as supplicants to Olympian Zeus’ (fr. trag. adesp. 145a; SH 1018): because they used to worship the gods in caves, thinking the caves were sacred

Comment

Descriptive etymology defining the cave as a hole resulting from the piercing of the rocks. The segmentation is ἄν-τρ-ον, with the [an] representing the preverb ἀνα- and the [tr] the stem of τείρω, τέρετρον, τιτράω. No formal manipulation is required as Greek scholars were familiar with the monosyllabic form of the preverb ἀν-.

Parallels

Etym. Genuinum, alpha 938 (Ἄντρον· τὸ σπήλαιον γ 103, 347· ‘ἐγγύθι δ’ αὐτῆς ἄντρον ἐπήρατον ἠεροειδές’, ἀνάτορόν τι ὄν, τὸ ἀνατετρημένον· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄνθη ἄνθηρον καὶ ἄνθρον καὶ ἄντρον κατὰ συγκοπήν· εἶναι γὰρ λειμονίδων νυμφῶν ἐνδιαίτημα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄντω, τὸ ἱκετεύω, ἄντομαι καὶ (Ap. Rh. 3, 77) ‘ἀντομένην Ἥρην’, ἄντορον καὶ ἄντρον, διότι θεοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἱκέτευον ἱερὰ τὰ σπήλαια ἡγούμενοι); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 115 (idem); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 86 (ἄντρον (ν 103, 347)· τὸ σπήλαιον· ἀνάτορόν τι ὄν, τὸ ἀνατετρημένον. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄνθη ἄνθηρον καὶ ἄνθρον καὶ ἄντρον· εἶναι γὰρ λειμωνιάδων θεῶν ἐνδιαίτημα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄντω, τὸ ἱκετεύω, ἄντορον καὶ ἄντρον, διότι θεοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ ἱκέτευον); Ps.-Zonaras, U, alpha, p. 193 (idem)

Modern etymology

Unclear (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Modern Greek still has άντρο designating 1. "any natural curve/cave inhabited by animals", 2. (metaphor.) "a refuge for criminals", 3. in anatomy, some curves of the human body. The word also survives in "Δικταίο άντρο", the cave where Zeus was raised.

Entry By

Le Feuvre