ἅμα + ἄγω

Validation

No

Word-form

ἅμαξα

Transliteration (Word)

hamaxa

English translation (word)

wagon, four-wheeled carriage

Transliteration (Etymon)

hama + agō

English translation (etymon)

together + to lead

Author

Philoxenus

Century

1 BC

Reference

fr. 18

Edition

C. Theodoridis, Die Fragmente des Grammatikers Philoxenos [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 2], Berlin: De Gruyter, 1976

Source

Scholia vetera in Homeri Iliadem

Ref.

A Scholion Il. 10.290

Ed.

H. Erbse, Scholia Graeca in Homeri Iliadem (scholia vetera), vols. 1-5, 7, Berlin: De Gruyter, 1969-1988

Quotation

(πρόφρασσα) Φιλόξενος γὰρ ἐν τῷ Περὶ μονοσυλλάβων φησίν, ὅτι ἔστιν ἰδιότυπος ῥηματικὸς χαρακτήρ· καὶ ὡς παρὰ τὸ βήσω βῆσα καὶ βῆσσα, ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἄμαξα, πείσω πεῖσα· „τῷ δ’ ἄρ’ ἔτ’ ἐν πείσῃ κραδίη μένε τετληυῖα“ (υ 23), οὕτω καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ φρῶ φρήσω φρῆσα, καὶ κατὰ τροπὴν φράσα καὶ πρόφρασα καὶ πρόφρασσα.

Translation (En)

Philoxenus says in his On monosyllables that is a particular verbal feature: and as from bēsō "I will walk" comes *bēsa and bēssa "valley",  from axō "I will lead" *axa and hamaxa "wagon", from peisō "I will persuade" peisa "persuasion" (‘his heart remained enduring again in obedience’, Od. 20.23), similarly from *phrō, *phrēsō, *phrēsa, and through change <of the vowel> *phrasa and prophrassa "benevolent"

Comment

Thie etymology parsing the word as a compound of ἅμα (implicit in Philoxenus, but explicit in Choeroboscus, see Parallels) and ἄγω seems to have been standard in Antiquity. It is partly correct: modern etymologists identify the first element of the compound as the pre-vocalic form of the copulative alpha "together", related to ἅμα – but although there is no agreement on the second element, the latter is probably not ἄγω. As often, Philoxenus starts from the future form ἄξω in order to explain the [s] of the noun. This etymology probably refers to a wagon pulled by two animals "leading together": modern etymologists on the other hand understand ἅμ- rather as referring to the fact that the wagon is assembled, that is, ἅμ- would refer to the building of the artefact, not to the number of animals used to pull it.

Parallels

Philoxenus, fr. 31 (ap. Orion, Etymologicum (excerpta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), alpha, p. 612) (ἄμαξα· ἐκ τοῦ ἄγω ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἐν συνθέσει ἄμαξα); idem, fr. 468 (ap. Orion, Etymologicum, delta, p. 50) (δόξα· ῥῆμά ἐστι περισπώμενον καὶ βαρύτονον δοκῶ καὶ δόκω· ἔνθεν ἐκ τοῦ δόκω βαρυτόνου ὁ μέλλων δόξω, ῥηματικὸν <ὄνομα> δόξα, ὡς ἄγω ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἄμαξα); Herodian, Peri kliseōs onomatōn, Lentz III/2, p. 716 (ap. Choeroboscus, Prolegomena et scholia in Theodosii Alexandrini canones isagogicos de flexione nominum, p. 257) (τὸ α τὸ ἀθροιστικόν, ἤγουν τὸ σημαῖνον ἄθροισιν, δασύνεσθαι θέλει οἷον ἅμαξα (εἴρηται δὲ ἅμαξα παρὰ τὸ ἅμα καὶ ἄγειν τὰ συνηθροισμένα), ἁθρόον ἀντὶ τοῦ ὁμοῦ (ἀθρόον δὲ ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐξαίφνης ψιλοῦται), ἅπας, ἅμα); Orion, Etymologicum, alpha, p. 20 (Ἅμαξα, ἄξω, ἄξα· ἅμαξα σύνθετον); A scholion Il. 1.317b Erbse (πλεῖστα γὰρ ὀνόματα ἀπὸ μελλόντων γέγονεν, οἷον ἅψω ἁψίς, λέξω λέξις, δόξω δόξα, ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἅμαξα. οὕτως οὖν καὶ κνίσω κνίσα […] ἐπειδὴ τὰ εἰς α θηλυκά, ἀπὸ μελλόντων ἢ ἐνεστώτων γινόμενα, βραχὺ ἔχει τὸ α, δόξω δόξα, ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἅμαξα, μῶ μῶσα καὶ μοῦσα); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 99 (τὰ εἰς Α λήγοντα θηλυκὰ ἀπὸ μελλόντων γινόμενα δισύλλαβα, συστέλλει τὸ Α, οἷον κνίζω κνίσω  ἔκνισα, ἄγω ἄξω ἅμαξα); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 604 (Ἄμαξα (Hes. op. 455)· παρὰ τὸ ἄγω ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἄμαξα); Epimerismi homerici in Iliadem 1.317a (τὰ εἰς α θηλυκὰ ἀπὸ μελλόντων ἢ ἐνεστώτων γινόμενα, βραχὺ ἔχει τὸ α, οἷον δόξω δόξα·  ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἅμαξα); Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p.106 (Ἅμαξα· παρὰ τὸ ἄγω ἄξω ἄξα καὶ ἅμαξα, ὡς ὁμοῦ ἄγουσα); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha,, p. 106 (Ἅμαξα· ἀπὸ τοῦ ἅμα ἄγειν· ἁμάαξ<α> τις οὖσα. ‖ καὶ ἄλλως· ἄξω ἄξα ἅμαξα σύνθετον); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 1, 648 Van der Valk (δηλῶ γοῦν δηλώσω, τὸ δείξω, δηλῶ δὲ δηλήσω, τὸ βλάψω, κυκλῶ κυκλώσω κοινῶς, κυκλῶ δὲ κυκλήσω παρ’Ὁμήρῳ, τὸ ἐφ’ ἁμάξης ἄξω, δινῶ δινήσω, τὸ συστρέψω, δινώσω δὲ ἀντὶ τοῦ τορεύσω, ὅθεν καὶ δινωτόν τὸ τορευτόν, ζηλῶ ζηλώσω, τὸ μιμήσομαι, ζηλῶ δὲ ζηλήσω, τὸ φθονήσω, ἐξ οὗ οἱ παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ ζηλήμονες θεοί καὶ ἕτερα); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 77 (Παρὰ τὸ ἄγω, ἄξω, ἄξα, καὶ ἅμαξα. Καὶ ἁμαξὶς, ἡ μικρά); ibid., p. 235 (ἄγω, ἄξω, ἄξα, καὶ ἅμαξα); Etym. Symeonis,vol. 1, p. 386 (idem); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, nu, p. 1398 (idem); ibid., alpha, p. 147 (παρὰ τὸ ἄγω, ἄμαξα)

Modern etymology

Copulative compound. The second element is best analyzed as the old name of the wheel axle (Lat. axis, Gr. ἄξων), despite Beekes' skepticism, that is, the four-wheeled wagon is that which has "axles together".

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has άμαξα designating 'wheeled vehicle/carriage usually guided by horses to transfer people'. The ancient form survives in the phrases "ο τελευταίος τροχός της αμάξης" ("the least important") and "τα εξ αμάξης" ("many swears/accusations").

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