ὁμοῦ + ἴλη

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Thu, 08/05/2021 - 14:03

Word-form

ὅμιλος

Transliteration (Word)

homilos

English translation (word)

throng

Transliteration (Etymon)

homou + ilē

English translation (etymon)

together + troop

Author

Aristarchus

Century

2 BC

Source

Scholia vetera in Homeri Iliadem

Ref.

A Scholion Il. 11.502

Ed.

H. Erbse, Scholia græca in Homeri Iliadem (scholia vetera), Berlin, 1971-1982

Quotation

ὁμίλει: ὅτι ὁμίλει ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐμάχετο, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας συμβάλλειν

Translation (En)

Homilei "he frequented”" because he says homilei instead of emakheto "he fought", from "to join troops (ilas) together (homou)"

Comment

This one of the few etymologies known to come from Aristarchus. It is transmitted by an A scholion going back to Aristonicus. The point made by Aristarchus here is that normally ὅμιλέω menas "to frequent", "to be in conversation with", but in this line specifically it has a different meaning and means "to fight". Therefore it also has a different etymology, fit for this military meaning: the word is parsed as a compound of ὁμο- as in the regular etymology (form the "normal" use), and the second element is here identified as ἴλη "troop (of warriors)". This is a case of complementary etymology in Aristarchus; teaching

Parallels

A Schol. Il. 11.523 (ἡ διπλῆ ὅτι κυρίως λέγει ὁμιλέομεν, ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας συμβάλλομεν); Orion, Etymologicum, omicron, p. 118 (Ὅμιλος. παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ εἰλεῖσθαι· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας ἔχειν); ibid., p. 114 (Ὁμιλεῖν. ἐπὶ τοῦ πολεμεῖν. παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας συλλαβεῖν); Etym. Parvum, omicron 7 (Ὁμιλεῖν· παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ, καὶ τὸ εἵλω, τὸ συστρέφω· ὁ ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας, ἤγουν τοὺς λόχους, συστρέφων); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 3, 242 Van der Valk (Ἔστι δὲ καὶ νῦν ὁμιλεῖν κυριολεκτικῶς τὸ ὁμοῦ ταῖς στρατιωτικαῖς ἴλαις γίνεσθαι, ὡς καὶ μετ’ ὀλίγα ἐν τῷ «ὁμιλέομεν Δαναοῖσιν». οὗ περίφρασις τὸ «δῦναι ὅμιλον»); ibid., 4, 245 (Ὅρα δὲ καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ ὁμιλεῖν, καιριωτάτην λέξιν ἐπὶ μάχης, ὅτε ὁμοῦ αἱ τακτικαὶ ἶλαι γίνονται); ibid., 4, 306 (Σημείωσαι δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἐν τῷ «ὁμιλήσωσι φάλαγγες» πάνυ κυριολεκτεῖται τὸ ὁμιλεῖν. δηλοῖ γὰρ τὸ ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας γενέσθαι); Eustathius, Comm. Od. 1, 56 Stallbaum (Τὸ δὲ ὁμιλήσει, πολεμικὴ λέξις ὡς καὶ ἐν Ἰλιάδι, παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ τὰς στρατιωτικὰς ἴλας εἶναι μαχομένας. καὶ οὐκ ἔστι σύστοιχος ἡ λέξις αὕτη τῷ ὀλίγῳ τῷ πρὸ ὀλίγου ῥηθέντι τῷ τῶν μνηστήρων, ἴσως δὲ καὶ παικτικῶς ἐῤῥέθη τοῦτο ὡς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τὸν ὅμιλον ἵνα λέγῃ ὅτι ἔστι μὲν ὅμιλος οὗτος, εἰ δὲ Ὀδυσσεὺς αὐτοῖς ὁμιλήσει, ἐξώλοντο); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 624 (Ὅμιλος: Ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ πολέμου, παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας βάλλειν, ὅ ἐστι τὰς συστροφάς· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς ἀναστροφῆς τοῦ ὄχλου, παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ εἰλεῖσθαι.Οὕτως Ὦρος); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, omicron, p. 1446 (Ὅμιλος. ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ πολέμου, παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ τὰς ἴλας ἐμβάλλειν, ὅ ἐστι τὰς συστροφάς· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς ἀναστροφῆς τοῦ πλήθους ἤγουν τοῦ ὄχλου, παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ εἰλεῖσθαι); Tzetzes, Exegesis in Homeri Iliadem 1.261.4 (ὡμίλησα· ὁμοῦ τὴν ἴλην καὶ τὴν τάξιν ἔσχον); Scholia in Aeschylum Th. 35d (ὅμιλος δὲ ἐτυμολογεῖται ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοῦ τὴν ἴλην ἔχειν); Schol. Od. 1, 225e Pontani (ὅμιλος] ὅμιλος ἐπὶ στρατιᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἴλη, ὅμιλος δὲ ἐπὶ πλήθους ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοῦ εἱλεῖσθαι)

Modern etymology

Unknown, but probably derived from ὁμο- "together" < PIE *som-o- (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has όμιλος as a learned word meaning "Society". The denominative verb ομιλώ "to speak" is a learned form, replaced by μιλώ in usual speech.

Entry By

Arthur de Tocqueville