λα- + οὖς
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
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Ed.
Quotation
Λαγώς. ἔγκειται τὸ λα ἐπιτατικόν. παρὰ τοῦτο οὖν καὶ τὸ ὦς Δώριον, ὁ μεγάλα ὦτα ἔχων.
Translation (En)
Lagōs ("hare"): in which lies the intensive la-. Therefore, from that one and the Dorian ōs ("the ear"), i.e. the one with big ears.
Parallels
Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 173 (λαγωοῖς, ἡ εὐθεῖα ὁ λαγωός· καὶ λαγὼς ἐτυμολογεῖται παρὰ τὸ Α ἐπιτακτικὸν μόριον, καὶ τὸ ὢς ὠτός· ὁ μεγάλα ὦτα ἔχων); Etym. Genuinum, lambda 7 (Λαγώς· παρὰ τὸ ὦς ὠτὸς καὶ τοῦ ΛΑ ἐπιτατικοῦ μορίου, ὁ μεγάλα ὦτα ἔχων.); Etym. Gudianum, lambda, p. 360 (Λαγωὸς, παρὰ τὸ λα ἐπιτατικὸν μόριον, καὶ τὸ ὦς ὠτὸς, ὁ μεγάλα ὦτα ἔχων· Ἀπολλόδωρος, ὅτι λάγαρόν ἐστι); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 3, 90 Van der Valk (ὸ δὲ λέγειν ὅτι λαγὼς παρὰ τὸ λα ἐπιτατικὸν γίνεται καὶ τὸ ὦς ὠτός, τὸ ὠτίον, ἐξ οὗ δῆθεν ὁ λαγωός, δοκεῖ ἔχειν ἀντιλογίαν διὰ τὴν ὀξυτόνησιν); Etym. Magnum Kallierges, p. 554 (Λαγώς: Παρὰ τὸ ΛΑ ἐπιτατικὸν καὶ τὸ ὦς ὠτὸς Δωρικῶς γίνεται, ὁ μεγάλα ὦτα ἔχων. Ἢ τὸ λάειν, ὅ ἐστι βλέπειν· λέγεται γὰρ μὴ μύειν κοιμώμενος. Ἐκ τοῦ λαγὼς γίνεται λαγῷος τὸ ἐπίθετον· καὶ λαγῷα κρέα); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, lambda, p. 1280 (Λαγώς. παρὰ τὸ λα ἐπιτατικὸν μορίον, καὶ τοῦ ὦς, ὠτὸς, ὁ μεγάλα ὦτα ἔχων. γράφεται καὶ λαγωός. Λαγγόβαρδος. κύριον. γράφεται καὶ Λαγγίβαρβος)
Bibliography
On the so-called intensive prefix λα-, see C. Le Feuvre, “Λακαταπύγων (Aristophane, Ach. 664), hom. αἰψηρός, λαιψηρός, et le prétendu préfixe intensif λα-”. Revue de Philologie 81/2, 2007 [2009], p. 309-328.
Comment
Compositional descriptive etymology referring to one characteristic feature of the animal, the size of its ears. It implies one formal manipulation, the insertion of a consonant. The so-called intensive prefix la- results from an erroneous analysis of compounds having as their first element λαός / λεώς "people" (see Le Feuvre 2007)