πείθω

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Last modification

Sun, 07/30/2023 - 12:30

Word-form

πίθηκος

Transliteration (Word)

pithēkos

English translation (word)

monkey, ape, non-human primate

Transliteration (Etymon)

peithō

English translation (etymon)

to persuade, to convince

Author

Philoxenus

Century

I BC

Source

Idem

Ref.

Philoxenus, fr. 17 Theodoridis

Ed.

C. Theodoridis, ed., Die Fragmente des Grammatikers Philoxenos [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 2], Berlin: De Gruyter, 1976]: 93-387

Quotation

πίθηκος· παρὰ τὸν πιθήσω μέλλοντα, ὅπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ πιθῶ περισπωμένου γέγονεν· πείθει γὰρ ἡμᾶς τὸ ζῷον εἰδεχθὲς ὂν προσέχειν αὐτῷ

Translation (En)

Pithēkos (Monkey): from the future pithēsō ('I will convince you'), coming from the contract pithō ('to convince'). This is because this animal despite being ugly persuades us to pay attention to him

Other translation(s)

Pithēkos ('scimmia'): dal futuro pithēsō ('Ti convincerò'), una forma che viene da pithō ('Ti convinco'). Infatti questo animale, pur essendo orrendo, ci convince a prestargli attenzione

Comment

The verb *πιθέω - πιθῶ is a ghost-form invented to explain πίθηκος: it is drawn from the negative ἀπιθέω "I do not believe", attested in Homer and in poetry and belonging to the root of πείθω, through removal of the negative prefix. For a general insight into ancient 'folk' etymologies concerning primates see above all Isidorus' Etymologiae 12.2.30, where different hypotheses are put forward

Parallels

Orion, Etymologicum, pi, p. 134 (Πίθηκος. παρὰ τὸν πιθήσω μέλλοντα. ἀπὸ τοῦ πιθῶ. πείθει γὰρ ἡμᾶς τὸ ζῶον); Suda, pi 1580 (Πίθηκος: τὸ ζῷον, ἡ μιμώ. παρὰ τὸ πιθῶ, πιθήσω· πείθει γὰρ ἡμᾶς); Etym Gudianum, pi, p. 467 (Πίθηκος, παρὰ τὸν πιθήσω μέλλοντα, ἀπὸ τοῦ πιθῶ περισπωμένου· πείθει γὰρ ἡμᾶς τὸ ζῶον, εἰδεχθὲς ὂν, προσέχειν αὐτῷ· οὕτω Φιλόξενος ἐν τῷ περὶ περισπωμένων ῥημάτων).

The etymology is implicit in Scholia in AristophanemRan. 1084: Δημοπιθήκους δὲ τοὺς πανούργους περὶ τὸν δῆμον, ὡς τὸ ζῷον ὁ πίθηκος. ἢ τοὺς τὸν δῆμον κολακεύοντας καὶ πείθοντας

Bibliography

General references on primates in Antiquity: W.C. McDermott, The Ape in Antiquity, Baltimore 1938; C., Connors, "Monkey business : imitation, authenticity, and identity from Pithekoussai to Plautus" 2004, Classical Antiquity 23 (2) : 179-207; C. Greenlaw, The Representation of Monkeys in the Art and Thought of Mediterranean Cultures, Oxford 2011

Modern etymology

Unknown

Persistence in Modern Greek

The word id used in Modern Greek to designate the family of mammals including chimpanzees, monkeys, baboons, gοrillas etc. The word is also used metaphorically to denote a very ugly man (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of Modern Greek)

Entry By

Marco Vespa