ὀνίνημι

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Tue, 06/01/2021 - 15:39

Word-form

ὄνειρος

Transliteration (Word)

oneiros

English translation (word)

dream

Transliteration (Etymon)

oninēmi

English translation (etymon)

to profit

Author

Apollonius Soph.

Century

1 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Lexicon homericum, p. 121

Ed.

I. Bekker, Apollonii Sophistae lexicon Homericum, Berlin, 1833

Quotation

ὄναρ ὄνειρος· [...] ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀνίσκειν, ὅ ἐστιν ὠφελεῖν. ἀρσενικῶς δὲ ὄνειρος ἢ παρὰ τοῦτο ἢ παρὰ τὸ τὸ ὂν εἴρειν, τουτέστι τὸ ὑπάρχον λέγειν.

Translation (En)

Onar oneiros "dream": [...] from oniskein, which is "to profit". And the masculine oneiros comes either from this word, or from on eirein, that is to say to uparkhon legein "to say what is being".

Comment

Derivational etymology relying on the formal proximity of ὄναρ, ὄνειρος with ὄνειαρ "profit, utility", which is indeed derived from ὀνίνημι (older *ὄνηϝαρ). From the semantic point of view, this relies on the idea that dream is sent by the gods, and is an advice from which man can only profit. Eustathius derived it directly from ὄνειαρ "utility", relying on the anonymous quotation of a poet who used ὄνειαρ for ὄνειρος in a reference to the dreams coming out through the gates of horn and ivory (see Parallels)

Parallels

Orion, Etymologicum, omicron, p. 113 (Ὄνειρος. ἤτοι παρὰ τὴν ὄνησιν, ἢ οἷον παρὰ τὸ ὀνῶ ὄνειρος, ὡς παρὰ τὸ πέπω πέπειρος, ἢ παρὰ τὸ εἴρειν καὶ λέγειν, ἢ κατὰ μετάθεσιν τοῦ ο. νοηρός τις ὤν.);Epimerismi Homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, omicron 2 (ὄνειρον (Β 6): τὸ νει δίφθογγος· τὰ διὰ τοῦ ειρος ῥ⸤ηματικὰ δίφθογγον ἔχει· παρὰ τὸ ὀνῶ⸥, τὸ ὠφελῶ. τὸ ὀνῶ σημαίνει τρία· 1) ὀνῶ, τὸ ὠφελῶ, ⸤ἐξ οὗ καὶ ὄνησις, ἡ ὠ⸥φέλεια· ἔπειτα δὲ καὐτὸς ὀνήσεαι (Ζ 260)· καὶ 2) τὸ μέμφομαι, ⸤ἐξ οὗ καὶ ὁ μέλλων ὀνόσω, ὡς τὸ ἔνθα κεν οὐκέτι ἔργον ἀνὴρ ὀνόσαιτο μετελθών (Δ 539)· σημαίνει⸥ καὶ 3) τὸ ἀγοράζω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ „ὠνησάμην ⸤δούλην⸥.“); Etym. Gudianum, omicron, p. 429 (Ὄνειρος, ἤτοι παρὰ τὴν ὄνησιν, οἷον, παρὰ τὸ ὀνῶ τὸ ὠφελοῦμαι, ὄνειρος, ὡς παρὰ τὸ πέπω πέπειρος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ὀνείρειν καὶ λέγειν, ἢ κατὰ μετάθεσιν τοῦ ο, νόειρός τις ὤν.); Eustathius, Comm. Od. 2, 219 Stallbaum (Ἐν τούτοις δὲ σημείωσαι καὶ ὅτι τοῦ ἀληθοῦς ὀνείρου ἐτυμολογουμένου ἀπό τε τοῦ, αὐτὸ τὸ ὂν εἴρειν, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀνέω τὸ ὠφελῶ, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ ὄνειαρ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ἰῶτα, ὠνόμασέ τις ὄνειαρ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ὄνειρον, οἷον, ‘ὄνειαρ κεράτων οὐδ’ ἐλέφαντος ὄν’. ἐξ οὗ δῆλον, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπὶ βρωμάτων μόνον λέγεται τὸ ὄνειαρ, ἀλλὰ πᾶν εἰς ὄνησιν ἐπιτήδειον οὕτω καλεῖται, ὁποῖόν τι καὶ ὁ ἀληθὴς ὄνειρος)

Modern etymology

Derivative of the older ὄναρ "dream". Isolated within Greek. Cognate with Arm. anurǰ "dream" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has the neuter noun όνειρο "dream"

Entry By

Arthur de Tocqueville