δέω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ζώνη. τὸ τοῦ σώματος μέρος. εἴρηται παρὰ τὸ ζῶ. ἐν ᾧ μάλιστα τὸ τοῦ ζώου ἐστὶ δεκτικὸν καὶ τὸ ζωτικόν. ζώνη ὁμωνύμως καὶ τὸ περὶ αὐτὴν ὕφασμα, ὡς καὶ θώραξ τὸ μέρος καὶ τὸ περιτιθέμενον ὅπλον. ἢ παρὰ τὸ δεῖν δώνη καὶ ζώνη ἡ περιδεομένη.
Translation (En)
Zōnē: the body part (the waist). It gets its name from zō "to live", <as> the part in which is located the most life-receiving and vital organs of the animal. And the piece of cloth around it bears the same name zōnē "belt", as thōrax refers to the body part and to the armour which is put around it. Or from dein "to bind", *dōnē and zōnē "belt", the one which is bound around and binds us.
Parallels
Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, zeta, p. 965 (idem); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 414 (Ζώνη: Τὸ τοῦ σώματος μέρος· παρὰ τὸ ζῶ· ἐν ᾧ μάλιστα τὸ τοῦ ζῴου ἐστὶ ζωτικόν· καὶ τὸ περὶ αὐτὸ ὕφασμα ζώνη ὁμωνύμως λέγεται, ὡς καὶ θώραξ τὸ μέρος τοῦ σώματος, καὶ τὸ περιτιθέμενον ὅπλον. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δεῖν, δώνη καὶ ζώνη, ἡ περιδεομένη καὶ δεσμοῦσα ἡμᾶς)
Comment
This etymology was designed for the meaning "belt", not for the meaning "waist" (body part on which the belt is fitted). It is a functional etymology defining the belt through its function, which is to bind and fasten the garment. It implies a formal manipulation, the change of [d] to [z], of which Greek scholars had many dialectal examples: since they knew ζ used to be pronounced [dz], the change amounts to the simple addition of a sibilant. *δώνη is a ghost form given for the sake of the etymology, as an intermediate step between the lemma and the etymon.