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Ancient and Medieval Greek Etymologies

ἀργός2

Word

ἀργός2

Validation

Yes

Last modification

Sun, 07/04/2021 - 13:50

Word-form

ἀργός

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ-1 .

LSJ-2

Transliteration (Word)

argos

English translation (word)

idle, lazy

Transliteration (Etymon)

a- + ergon

English translation (etymon)

not + work

Author

Sophocles

Century

5 BC

Source

Idem

Ref.

Philoctetes 97

Ed.

H. Lloyd-Jones and N.G. Wilson, Sophoclis fabulae, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990

Quotation

ἐσθλοῦ πατρὸς παῖ, καὐτὸς ὢν νέος ποτὲ / γλῶσσαν μὲν ἀργόν, χεῖρα δ’ εἶχον ἐργάτιν

Translation (En)

Son of a father so noble, I, too, in my youth once had a "slow" (argon) tongue and an "active" (ergatin) hand (transl. Jebb)

Comment

Ἀργός is the regular contraction of ἀεργός "inactive", and this was correctly understood by most Greek speakers. The opposition ἔργον (or, as here, a derivative) / ἀργός, is frequently found in classical texts. The etymology is implicit because it is obvious

Parallels

(only explicit etymologies are given here)

Epimerismi homerici Il. 1, 50d2 (ἀργούς: λευκούς. δύο σημαίνει ἀργός, τὸν νωθρὸν καὶ δυσκίνητον, μᾶλλον δὲ <ἀν>ενέργητον παρὰ τὸ ἀ<ε>ργός τις εἶναι ἢ βοηθείας δεόμενος, παρὰ τὸ ἀρήγω, τὸ βοηθῶ· σημαίνει δὲ καὶ καθαρὸν καὶ λευκόν, ὡς ἐνταῦθα. γίνεται παρὰ τὸ ἀήρ ἀέρος ἀργός· διειδὴς γὰρ ὁ ἀὴρ καὶ διαφανὴς καὶ δίοσμος, ἅτε λεπτομερέστερος ὤν); Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p. 187 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 136 (Ἀργός: Ὁ νωθρὸς καὶ δυσκίνητος, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀνενέργητος· παρὰ τὸ ἀεργός τις εἶναι· ἢ βοηθείας δεόμενος, παρὰ τὸ ἀρήγω τὸ βοηθῶ. Εἰ δὲ σημαίνει τὸν καθαρὸν καὶ λευκὸν, γίνεται παρὰ τὸ ἀὴρ ἀεργὸς, ὁ ἀργός. Διειδὴς γὰρ ὁ ἀὴρ καὶ διαφανὴς καὶ δίοσμος, ἅτε λεπτομερέστατος ὤν); Lexica synonymica, Differentiae verborum (e cod. Paris. suppl. gr. 1238) (Ἀργὸς ὁ λευκὸς καὶ ὁ ταχὺς καὶ ὁ νωθρὸς καὶ δυσκίνητος. καὶ ὁ μὲν λευκὸς ἐτυμολογεῖται παρὰ τὸ ἀὴρ ἀέρος, ἀρὸς καὶ ἀργός· διειδὴς γὰρ καὶ καθαρὸς ὁ ἀήρ. ὁ δὲ νωθρὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀεργός, ὁ μὴ δυνάμενος ἢ ὁ μὴ προθυ<μού>μενος ἐργάζεσθαι. Ἄργος δὲ ὄνομα πόλεως ἐν Πελοπον<ν>ήσῳ)

Modern etymology

Privative compound of ἔργον "work"

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has αργός as: 1. "slow in motion" (from Medieval Gr.), 2. slow in development (calque from French), 3. a clergy man deprived of his duties (from Medieval Gr.), 4. 'not elaborated' (a calque from English)