βαίνω
Word
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Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
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Ed.
Quotation
Βίος· ἡ ζωή, ἣ καὶ βιοτὴ προσαγορεύεται· παρὰ τὸ μετὰ βίας καὶ ἀνάγκης ζῆν, ὥς φησιν Ὅμηρος, οἷον (Ζ 138 ...)· ‘θεοὶ ῥεῖα ζώοντες’, οὐχ οὕτως ἄνθρωποι. ἢ παρὰ τὸ βέω, τὸ πορεύομαι· τί γάρ ἐστι βίος ἢ ὁδὸς καὶ πορεία; τὸ γὰρ βέω κυρίως τὸ πορεύομαι σημαίνει Ζ 113· ‘ὄφρ’ ἂν ἐγὼ βέω προτὶ Ἴλιον’· καὶ τὸ ζῆν δὲ βέω Χ 431· ‘†Ἕκτωρ, ἐγὼ δειλή· τί νυ βέομαι αἰνὰ παθοῦσα;’
Translation (En)
Bios "life", which is also called biotē: from the fact that men live under force and necessity, as Homer says, for instance in Il. 6.138 ‘the gods living an easy life’, not as men. Or from beō "to walk": because what is life, if not a way and a journey? The verb beō properly means "to go", as evidenced in Il. 6.113 ‘til I go to Ilion’, and also "to live", in Il. 22.431 ‘Hector, o wretched me, why do I live now, suffering terribly?’
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, beta, p. 270 (⸤Βίος· ἡ ζωή, <ἣ> καὶ βιοτὴ προσαγορεύεται· παρὰ τὸ βέω, τὸ πορεύομαι. τί γάρ ἐστι βίος ἢ ὁδὸς καὶ [ἡ] πορεία; τὸ γὰρ βέω [ἡ ζωὴ] <κυρίως τὸ πορεύομαι σημαίνει>, οἷον <Ζ 113> „ὄφρ’ ἂν ἐγὼ βείω προτ<ὶ> Ἴλιον.“ καὶ τὸ ζῆν δὲ βέω· <Χ 431> „Ἕκτορ, ἐγὼ δειλή· τί νυ βείομαι.“⸥ ); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 198 (βίος ἡ ζωὴ ἢ βιοτὴ προσαγορεύεται· παρὰ τὸ μετὰ βίας καὶ ἀνάγκης ζῆν, ὥς φησιν Ὅμηρος, ‘Θεοὶ ῥεῖα ζώοντες’. Οὐχ οὕτως οἱ ἄνθρωποι. Ὣς γὰρ ἐπεκλώσαντο θεοὶ δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσι, ‘ζώειν ἀχνυμένους· αὐτοὶ δέ τ’ ἀκηδέες εἰσίν’. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ βέω, τὸ πορεύομαι. Τί γὰρ ἐστὶ βίος, ἢ ὁδὸς καὶ πορεία; Τὸ γὰρ βέω κυρίως τὸ πορεύομαι σημαίνει· ‘Ὄφρ’ ἂν ἐγὼ βείω προτὶ Ἴλιον’); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 438 (idem); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, beta, p. 388 (Βίος. ἡ οὐσία τῶν κτημάτων, καὶ τὸ ζῇν καὶ ἡ ζωὴ, ἢ βιωτὴ προσαγορεύεται. παρὰ τὸ μετὰ βίας καὶ ἀνάγκης ζῇν. καὶ Ὅμηρος· —οἷον ‘ θεοὶ ῥεῖα ζώοντες’οὐχ οὕτως ἄνθρωποι. ἢ παρὰ τὸ βέω τὸ πορεύομαι. τί γάρ ἐστι βίος ἢ ὁδὸς καὶ πορεία; [τὸ γὰρ βέω κυρίως τὸ πορεύομαι σημαίνει. ‘ὄφρ’ ἂν ἐγὼ βέω ποτὶ Ἴλιον.’] )
Comment
This etymology rests on a confusion between βέω / βείω, subjunctive of ἔβην "I went" (Il. 6.113) and βέω, archaic subjunctive of "to live" (Il. 22.431). Of course βίος is etymologically related to the latter, but not to the former. However, for Greek etymologists the homophony between the two meant they were one and the same word, with two different meanings, and that allowed βίος connected with βέω2 to be also etymologized through βέω1. This is then justified by the familiar metaphor of life as a journey, found for instance in Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 21 Πόσα σημαίνει ὁδός; Τρία· τὸν βίον· “μακάριοι ἄμωμοι ἐν ὁδῷ οἱ πορευόμενοι,” τουτέστιν ἐν βίῳ· "how many meanings does ὁδός ‘way’ have? Three. <the first one is> "life" ("blessed are the ones going blameless in their way" [that is, "in life"])"