γῆ

Validation

Yes

Last modification

Fri, 07/23/2021 - 16:07

Word-form

γάλα

Transliteration (Word)

gala

English translation (word)

milk

Transliteration (Etymon)

English translation (etymon)

earth

Author

Etym. Gudianum

Century

11 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, gamma, p. 295

Ed.

E.L. de Stefani, Etymologicum Gudianum, fasc. 1 & 2, Leipzig: Teubner, 1:1909; 2:1920

Quotation

Γάλα· παρὰ τὸ καλὸν εἰς ἀνατροφήν, οἷον κάλα· ‖ ἢ παρὰ τὴν γῆν (ὅτι τροφὸς πάντων αὕτη) γάλα· εἴρηται τὸ τρέφον πάντα τὰ σώματα

Translation (En)

Gala "milk": from the fact it is good for feeding, a *kala, as it were. Or from "earth" (because earth is the feeder of all). It is said of what feeds all the bodies

Comment

This etymology, found only here, is weak from the formal point of view, as only the initial consonant is common to the lemma and the etymon. A specific type of food is assumed to derive from a specific feeder, although this feeder does not produce this food. This relies on the metaphor of earth as feeder / nurse (τροφός), which is explicit in the explanation, and since a nurse gives milk (food), so does earth. It may have been suggested by the Biblical phrase γῆ ῥέουσα γάλα καὶ μέλι.

Parallels

There is no parallel

Modern etymology

PIE *glkt- "milk|, cognate with Lat. lac, lactis. Within Greek, related to γλάγος "milk" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Yes

Entry By

Le Feuvre