ὄμμα + ἀχλύς
Word
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Word-form
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
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Ed.
Quotation
ὁμίχλη ἀχλὺς καὶ σκοτία. λέγεται δὲ ἡ τῶν ὀμμάτων ἀχλύς
Translation (En)
Omikhlē "mist": fog and darkness. Its is called the fog (akhlus) of the eyes (ommatōn)
Parallels
Orion, Etymologicum, omicron, p. 112 (Ὁμίχλη. ἀπὸ τοῦ τοῖς ὄμμασι παρέχειν ἀχλύν. οἱ δὲ, ὁμοείλη τις ἐστὶ, παρὰ τὴν ὁμοῦ εἵλησιν τῶν νεφῶν); idem, Etymologicum (Excerpta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), xi, p. 615 (ὀμίχλη, ἀπὸ τοῦ τοῖς ὄμμασιν ἀχλὺν παρέχειν); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, omicron 50 (ἐτυμολογεῖται ὁμίχλη παρὰ τὸ ⸤ὁμοῦ ἔχειν εἴλησιν⸥, ἢ παρὰ τὸ τοῖς ὄμμασι παρέχειν ἀχλύν); Suda, omicron 258 (Ὁμίχλη: ἀορασία, ἢ παχὺς ἀήρ. Ὁμίχλη, ὁ τεθολωμένος ἀὴρ καὶ μὴ διαυγής, μηδὲ λαμπρός. Ὅμηρος· εὖτ’ ὄρεος κορυφῇσι νότος κατέχευεν ὁμίχλην. ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ παρὰ τὸ τοῖς ὄμμασιν ἀχλὺν παρέχειν); Joannes Mauropus, Etymologica nominum 85-86 (ὁμοῦ δ’ ὁμίχλη σὺν γνόφῳ χαλωμένη | κατασκεδάζει τὴν ἀχλὺν τῶν ὀμμάτων); Etym. Gudianum, omicron, p. 427--428 (Ὁμίχλη, παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν τὴν εἵλησιν τῶν νεφῶν· ἢ παρὰ τὸ τοῖς ὄμμασιν παρέχειν ἀχλύν. δασύνεται· τὸ ο γὰρ πρὸ τοῦ ἑνὸς μ δασύνεται· καὶ πῶς παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ λέγεται, ἠΰτ’ ὀμίχλη· εἰ γὰρ ἐδασύνθη, τραπεῖν εἶχε τὸ ψιλὸν εἰς δασύ· ἐροῦμεν οὖν ὅτι κατὰ διάλεκτον Ἰωνικήν· οἱ γὰρ Ἴωνες τοῖς δάσεσι ἀντὶ ψιλῶν χρῶνται· τὸ ἀφικόμεθα γὰρ ἀπικόμεθα, καὶ τὸ οὐχὶ οὐκὶ, οὕτω καὶ τὸ ἠϋθ’ ὀμίχλη. ἠΰτ’ ὀμίχλη); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 624 (Ὁμίχλη: Ὁ παχὺς καὶ ὑγρότατος ἀήρ. Παρὰ τὴν ὁμοῦ εἴλησιν τῶν νεφῶν, ὁμίλη· καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ χ. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ ἔχειν εἴλησιν· ἢ παρὰ τὸ τοῖς ὄμμασι παρέχειν ἀχλύν); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 1, 182 Van der Valk ([Ἔτι δὲ καὶ Ἰωνικῶς ἔχει τὴν ψιλήν, κοινῶς δέ γεδασύνεται παρὰ τὴν ὁμοῦ εἴλησιν. εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ ἄλλως ψιλοῦσιν αὐτὸ παρὰ τὸ ἀχλύειν, δι’ ἧς ἀχλύονται ὄμματα])
Comment
This is not explicitly presented as the etymology in Apollonius but is in later sources. The word is parsed as a compound with ἀχλύς "mist", synonym of ὀμίχλη and sharing with it the sequence -χλ-, which explains why the one was assumed to be the etymon of the other. As always, the shorter word is assumed to be the etymon of the longer one. The initial [om] is identified as ὄμμα "eye", so that the word means "mist of the eye". It is striking, however, that in the several Homeric instances where "mist" falls on the eyes of a warrior, the word used is always ἀχλύς and not ὀμίχλη. Then a formal manipulation is required, the change of [a] into [I], which is not commented upon.