ἀήρ
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
ἀγρός
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
agros
English translation (word)
field
Transliteration (Etymon)
aēr
English translation (etymon)
air
Century
11 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p. 17
Ed.
E.L. de Stefani, Etymologicum Gudianum, fasc. 1 & 2, Leipzig: Teubner, 1:1909; 2:1920
Quotation
⸤Ἀγριωπός· ἀγριόφθαλμος·⸥ παρὰ τὸ ἄγριος καὶ τὸ ὤψ ὠπός, ὃ σημαίνει τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν καὶ τὸ π⸤ρόσωπον. τὸ δὲ ἄγριος παρὰ τὸ ἀγρός. τὸ δὲ ἀγρός παρὰ τὸ⸥ ἀήρ ἀέρος, καὶ ἐν συγκοπῇ καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ γ ἀγρός, ὁ εὔωρος· ἢ π⸤αρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ, τὸ ἀροτριῶ, ἀρός καὶ ἀγρός· <ἢ> παρὰ τὸ ἀγορά ἄγορος καὶ ἀγρός⸥
Translation (En)
Agriōpos "with a cruel face": from agrios "wild" and ōps, ōpos which means "eye" and "face". And agrios comes from agros. And agros "field" comes from aēr, aeros "air" and with syncope and addition of [g], agros, the ripe one (euōros); or from arô "to plough", *aros and agros; or from agora "market place", agoros and agros
Parallels
There is no parallel
Modern etymology
Old name of the field inherited from PIE *h2ég-ro-, cognate with Lat. ager, Ved. ájra-, Got. . It is derived from the root of ἄγω "to lead" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
Αγρός is still used in MG designating the land/property and also in plural denoting the specific area. The phrase "αγρόν αγοράζω", meaning 'to be indifferent'. "Αγρο-" is a very frequent first compound in many MG words, such as "αγροτεμάχιο".
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Acrobatic etymology starting from an inflected form, the genitive ἀέρος, and implying first a syncope and then the insertion of a consonant (aeros > aros > agros). From the semantic point of view it is at least as acrobatic: it seems to imply an etymological connection between ὥρα "season" (in εὔωρος "ripe", assumed to be the real deep meaning of ἀγρός) and ἀήρ which is not attested otherwise. This refers to the harvest period