γῆ
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
γάλα
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
gala
English translation (word)
milk
Transliteration (Etymon)
gē
English translation (etymon)
earth
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 gē "earth" (because earth is the feeder of all). It is said of what feeds all the bodies
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
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.