ἀρήν

Validation

Yes

Last modification

Mon, 06/21/2021 - 22:15

Word-form

ἀρά

Transliteration (Word)

ara

English translation (word)

prayer

Transliteration (Etymon)

arēn

English translation (etymon)

lamb

Author

Tzetzes

Century

12 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Exegesis in Homeri Iliadem 1.11

Ed.

M. Papathomopoulos, Ἐξήγησις Ἰωάννου Γραμματικοῦ τοῦ Τζέτζου εἰς τὴν Ὁμήρου Ἰλιάδα, Athens: Academy of Athens, 2007

Quotation

ἀρητῆρα· ἱερέα, παρὰ τὸ ἀρῶ τὸ εὔχομαι. Τὸ δὲ ἀρῶ καὶ ἀρὰ ἡ εὐχὴ παρὰ τὸ ἀρνός, ἀρνά, καὶ ἀρά· δι’ ἀρνῶν γὰρ οἱ παλαιοὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ἐπετέλουν

Translation (En)

Arētēra "priest", from arô "to pray". And arô and ara "prayer" come from "lamb" (arēn, arnos), arna, and ara: because the ancients used to make prayers with <a sacrifice of> lambs

Comment

Reversal of the usual etymology for ἀρήν (see ἀρἠν / ἀρά). It starts from an inflected form, the accusative ἄρνα. from which ἀρά is drawn through deletion of the [n]. The etymon (lamb) is the means allowing the lemma (prayer) to be realized.

Parallels

There is no parallel

Modern etymology

From ἀρϝά preserved in Arc. κάταρϝος. No secure cognate out of Greek, maybe related to a Hittite verb meaning {to bow, to prostrate" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has αρά as a learned word for "curse", the usual form being κατάρα

Entry By

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