ἀμάω + ἄγω
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
ἅμαξα
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
hamaxa
English translation (word)
wagon, four-wheeled carriage
Transliteration (Etymon)
amaō + agō
English translation (etymon)
to reap + to lead
Century
9 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Lexicon, alpha 1115
Ed.
C. Theodoridis, Photii patriarchae lexicon (Α—Δ), vol. 1, Berlin: De Gruyter, 1982
Quotation
Ἅμαξα· ἡ ναῦς παρὰ τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς. καὶ ἴσως εἰκάζουσιν αὐτὴν ἁμάξῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀμᾶν τὴν θάλασσαν
Translation (En)
Hamaxa "wagon": he ship, in Attic; maybe they compare it to the wagon because it reaps (amân) the sea
Parallels
Eustathius, Comm. Il. 4, 595 Van der Valk (Καὶ ὅρα ὅτι ψιλοῦσθαι ὁ ποιητὴς τὴν ἄμαξαν βούλεται, ὡς δηλοῖ τὸ «κατ’ ἀμαξιτόν». τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ κατημαξευμένου φαίνεται. γίνεται γάρ, φασίν, ἄμαξα παρὰ τὸ ἄγειν τὰ ἀμώμενα, ἤτοι θεριζόμενα. οἱ δὲ δασύνοντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ἅμα καὶ τοῦ ἄξονος αὐτὴν συντιθέασιν.)
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").
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Photius gives only the first part of the etymology, which is is fully explicit in Eustathius (see Parallels). Ἅμαξα is etymologized as a compound of ἄγω, as in the usual explanation, but the first element is supposed to be a form of ἀμάω "to reap". Since the ἅμαξα was indeed used for the transportation of the crop, this explanation relies on the association of ideas and provides a functional etymology. As Eustathius makes clear, this etymology implies that ἄμαξα be written without a rough breathing.