μή + εἷς
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
μῆνιν
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
mēnis
English translation (word)
wrath
Transliteration (Etymon)
mē + heis
English translation (etymon)
not + one
Century
12 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem 1, 13, 12-13
Ed.
M. van der Valk, Eustathii archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem pertinentes, Leiden, 1971-1987
Quotation
τινὲς δὲ μῆνίν φασι παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἕν· στερεῖ γὰρ τῆς ἑνότητος διϊστῶσα τοὺς ἐρίζοντας
Translation (En)
"But some say that mēnis "wrath" is from mē hen "not one"; because it deprives people of unity, separating those who quarrel"
Parallels
Scholia in Batrachomyomachia 102, 13-15 : ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ καὶ ἄλλως ἡ μῆνις, ἀπὸ τοῦ μή στερητικοῦ μορίου καὶ τοῦ ἑνῶ, ἡ μὴ ἑνοῦσα, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον διαιροῦσα, ὥσπερ αὖ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου εἰρήνη, ἡ εἴρουσα καὶ ἡ συμπλέκουσα εἰς ἕν "mēnis also has a different etymology, from the privative particle mē and the verb henō ‘to unite’, it is the one which does not unite, but rather separates, as conversely the antonym eirēnē ‘peace’ is the one which binds and ties together into one".
Modern etymology
Unclear. See the various attempts in Beekes, EDG. The most likely etymology is a dissimilation from *mneh2-ni-, from root *mneh2- "to remember" (C. Watkins, BSL 1972)
Persistence in Modern Greek
The word is still used in Modern Greek with the meaning 'wrath', but only in nominative and accusative singular in formal speech (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of Modern Greek)
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
This etymology parses the word as a compound of the negation mē and the numeral hen "one" (neuter). It is a Cratylic etymology seeking to reduce words to the smallest units, here two monosyllables, despite the fact that mē is never used in compounds (but see a similar analysis in μήνη / μὴ μένειν, μῖσος / ἴσος). From the formal point of view, it relies on the fact that the contraction of [ē] + [ĕ] yields [ē]. The etymology is not by Eustathius himself, but we do not know his source. It is found also in the Scholia in Batrachomyomachia, where it is justified by an etymology ex antonymo (see Parallels).