λαός + βαίνω

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Thu, 08/05/2021 - 14:03

Word-form

λώβη

Transliteration (Word)

lōbē

English translation (word)

dishonour

Transliteration (Etymon)

laos + bainō

English translation (etymon)

people + to go

Author

Eustathius of Thessalonica

Century

12 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Commentarii ad Homeri Odysseam 2, 293

Ed.

G. Stallbaum, Eustathii archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis commentarii ad Homeri Odysseam, 2 vols. in 1, Leipzig: Weigel, 1:1825; 2:1826

Quotation

παράγεται δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἐπὶ λαοῦ συμβαίνειν, ἵνα ᾖ λαόβη καὶ ἐν συναιρέσει λώβη 

Translation (En)

It is derived from "to occur" (sumbainein) "publicly" (epi laou), so that it is laobē and by contraction lōbē "dishonour"

Comment

Compositional etymology similar to λώβη / λαός + βοή but different as far as the second element is concerned. Here it is identified as "to go, to happen", which requires no formal change as the radical βη- is indeed found in several derivatives of βαίνω (βῆμα, βηλός)

Parallels

Eustathius, Comm. Il. 1, 144 Van der Valk (λώβη γὰρ ἡ εἰς τὸ φανερὸν ὕβρις καὶ ὡς εἰπεῖν ἐν μέσῳ λαοῦ βαίνουσα εἴς τινα, οἱονεὶ λαόβη καὶ κατὰ κρᾶσιν λώβη); Eustathius, Comm. Od. 1, 101 Stallbaum (ἔστι δὲ λώβη, ἡ ἐν κοινῷ ὕβρις, οἱονεὶ λαόβη, ἡ μέσον λαοῦ ἐπεμβαίνουσά τινι. ἢ παρὰ τὸ λώπιον, ἡ μετὰ ἔκδυσιν ἐπαγομένη γυμνῷ τινι); Scholia in Oppianum, Hal. 2.613 (λώβη ἀπὸ τοῦ λαὸς καὶ τοῦ βαίνω, λαόβη τις οὖσα, καὶ κράσει τοῦ αο εἰς ω μέγα λώβη)

Bibliography

On the etymology, see P. Ragot, "Grec homérique λωβη ou l'offense faite à Achille : étude sémantique et étymologique", Revue de Philologie 76/2, 2002, pp. 243-275.

Modern etymology

Λώβη is an action noun on the root of λαμβάνω "to take, to receive", and means "a hold" (Ragot 2002)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG has λώβα "leprosy"

Entry By

Le Feuvre