ἄγαν + νέομαι
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English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
οἷς ἀγανοῖς· ἢ ταχυτάτοις, ἄγαν ἱεμένοις. καὶ ἀγανὸς ἐτυμολογεῖται ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄγαν νέειν εἰς αὐτὸν πάντας, ὡς καὶ ἀγαθός ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄγαν θέειν περὶ αὐτόν· τὸν γὰρ ἀγαθὸν πάντες φιλοῦντες εἰς αὐτὸν τρέχομεν. ὁμοίως καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀγανὸν ἤτοι λαμπρὸν καὶ ἐνάρετον πάντες πορευόμεθα
Translation (En)
hois aganois] either the swiftest ones, thrown violently; and aganos comes etymologically from the fact that all "go with force" (agan neein) to him, as ἀγαθός (good) from "to run with force" (agan theein) around him, since all of us, loving the good one, run toward him. Similarly, we all go to the one who is mild, that is, shining and virtuous
Parallels
Schol. Od. ε 124a Pontani (οἷς ἀγανοῖς: ἢ τοῖς ταχυτάτοις παρὰ τὸ ἄγαν νεῖσθαι, ἢ τοῖς μὴ γάνος ἐμποιοῦσιν)
Bibliography
On the different etymologies proposed by Greek scholars for the different Homeric contexts, see C. Le Feuvre, "Implicit elements in scholiasts᾽ etymological analyses", in A. Zucker, C. Le Feuvre (Eds), Ancient and medieval Greek etymology. Theory and practice I, Berlin, de Gruyter, 2021, pp. 76-80
Comment
The word is parsed as a compound ἄγαν and νἐομαι, and comes ultimately from a transfer of etymology from the noun αἰγανέη "javelin", as the preceding etymology ἄγαν + ἵημι (see Le Feuvre 2021). The original meaning of the combination ἄγαν + νέομαι results in the interpretation "quick" for ἀγανός (see Schol. Od. ε 124a Pontani). But this etymology happens to be parallel with an etymology provided (among several others) for ἀγαθός (see ἀγαθός / ἄγαν + θέω), and the two adjectives form a minimal pair. As a consequence, the semantics of ἀγαθός as a combination ἄγαν + θέω was transposed to the parallel etymology for ἀγανός by the scholiast of Od. γ 280a3, yielding something more or less appropriate for the usual meaning of ἀγανός "mild"