βάλλω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
ἐπήβολος, ἐπιτυχής. ἐγκρατής. ἀπὸ τῆς βουλῆς ἢ βολῆς καὶ τοῦ βάλλειν. Πορφύριος δὲ μάλιστα τὴν ἐτυμότητα παρέδειξε τοῦ τοιούτου ὀνόματος. δοκεῖ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐπιτυχῶς βάλλειν, οὐ μόνον ὁ ἐπήβολος παρῆχθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ βελτίων, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἀβέλτερος ὁ ἀνόητος φασὶ καὶ εὐήθης μετὰ χαυνότητος
Translation (En)
Epēbolos "reaching the target", "powerful". From boulē "will", or bolē "throw", and ballein "to throw". Porphyrius has shown very clearly the correctness of this noun. He thinks that are derived from "to hit the target" not only epēbolos but also beltiōn "better"; and even abelteros, "insane" and "naive" because of his emptyness is said to come from this word.
Parallels
Orion, Etymologicum, beta, p. 36 (Βέλτερος, οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ βάλλω, ἀλλ’ ἴσως ἀπὸ τοῦ βέλλω· ὅθεν βέλος καὶ βολὴ, ὡς τρέπω τροπὴ, ὄνομα ῥηματικόν· ἑτέρῳ τύπῳ τῶν εἰς ων, βελτίων, καὶ ὑπερθετικὸν βέλτιστος "not from βάλλω, but maybe from βέλλω, from which come βέλος "projectile" and βολὴ "throw", as τρέπω "to turn", τροπὴ "turn", deverbal noun. With the other type <of comparative> in -ōn, βελτίων "better", and the superlative βέλτιστος); Etym. Genuinum, beta 90 (Βέλτερος· οὐ παρὰ τὸ βάλλω γέγονεν, ἐπεὶ βάλλος ὤφειλεν εἶναι, ὥσπερ θάλλω θάλλος, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ βέλλω, ὅθεν καὶ βολή καὶ βέλος, γίνεται ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα βέλτος καὶ τὸ συγκριτικὸν βέλτερος, οἷον Ο 511· ‘βέλτερον ἀπολέσθαι ἕνα χρόνον ἠὲ βιῶναι’. καὶ οὕτως μὲν ὁ Ὠρίων ἐτυμολογεῖ); ibid., beta 89 (Βελτίων· ἐκ τοῦ βάλλω ἢ βέλλω ῥήματος, ὅθεν καὶ βέλος καὶ βολή, γίνεται ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα βέλτος· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ βέλτος γίνεται συγκριτικὸς τύπος εἰς ων βελτίων καὶ ὑπερθετικὸς βέλτιστος. οὕτως Ὠρίων); Epimerismi homerici in ordine alphabetico traditi, beta 30 (τὸ θέμα βάλλω, ὅπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ βέλλω, ὅθεν καὶ τὸ βελτίων· καὶ ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ στέλλω στολή, οὕτως βέλλω βολή); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 195 (Βελτίων: Ἐκ τοῦ βάλλω ἢ βέλλω γίνεται ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα βέλτος· ἐκ δὲ τούτου γίνεται συγκριτικὸς τύπος εἰς ΩΝ, βελτίων· καὶ ὑπερθετικὸς, βέλτιστος. Ὠρίων); Scholia in Aelium Aristidem, Pan. 92.7 Jebb (ὁ καλῶς τοξεύων κυρίως καλεῖται βέλτιστος, παρὰ τὸ καλῶς βάλλειν); Scholia in Aristophanem (scholia recentiora Tzetzae), Plut. 3c (βέλτιστα” ἀντὶ τοῦ “λέξῃ”, ἢ “ἐὰν γὰρ λέξας τὰ βέλτιστα τύχῃ” ἤγουν “τυχαίως”. “βέλτιστος” παρὰ τὸ βέλλω, ὅθεν καὶ βολὴ καὶ βέλος γίνεται· ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα τὸ “βελτός”, καὶ τὸ συγκριτικὸν “βέλτερος”)
Comment
The comparative βελτίων is suppletive and has no positive. The assumed etymon is βάλλω "to throw", and the "better" one is the warrior whose throw reaches the target. This is based on Homeric phraseology where the main weapons are the javelin and the bow. Orion's denial (see Parallels) that the etymon is βάλλω simply means that his source (Herodian?) thought the etymon had to be a variant *βέλλω with the same meaning as βάλλω, which could also account for βέλος and βολή because the alternation [a] ~ [e] was unusual. This is more explicit in the Etym. Genuinum