Λακαταπύγων (Aristophanes, Ach. 664), hom. αἰψηρός, λαιψηρός and the So-Called Intensive Prefix λα-
Le Feuvre, Claire
Λακαταπύγων (Aristophanes, Ach. 664), hom. αἰψηρός, λαιψηρός and the So-Called Intensive Prefix λα- - 2010.
44
The intensive particle λᾱ- attested by ancient lexicography is a ghost word. It has its origin in a faulty analysis of the compound λᾱκαταπύγων (Ar., Ach. 664): this word does not mean “very καταπύγων” but “public καταπύγων,” it is a compound of λαός “people,” with the non-Attic form λᾱ- (instead of Attic λεω-) found in names such as Λαμαχος, which is the name of an Athenian general and character of the play, and λᾱκαταπύγων is a joke on that very name Λαμαχος. Compounds in λαι- usually compared with this λᾱ- have nothing to do with λαός, they are compounds of λιλαίομαι “to desire eagerly” Λαισθένης “who desires force”), from * lasi-. Neither is the homeric adjective λαιψηρός a compound with intensive λᾱ- : it is a secondary variant of αἰψηρός altered by analogy. The etymology and the Mycenaean names compared with these by Taillardat (1992) must therefore be abandoned.
Λακαταπύγων (Aristophanes, Ach. 664), hom. αἰψηρός, λαιψηρός and the So-Called Intensive Prefix λα- - 2010.
44
The intensive particle λᾱ- attested by ancient lexicography is a ghost word. It has its origin in a faulty analysis of the compound λᾱκαταπύγων (Ar., Ach. 664): this word does not mean “very καταπύγων” but “public καταπύγων,” it is a compound of λαός “people,” with the non-Attic form λᾱ- (instead of Attic λεω-) found in names such as Λαμαχος, which is the name of an Athenian general and character of the play, and λᾱκαταπύγων is a joke on that very name Λαμαχος. Compounds in λαι- usually compared with this λᾱ- have nothing to do with λαός, they are compounds of λιλαίομαι “to desire eagerly” Λαισθένης “who desires force”), from * lasi-. Neither is the homeric adjective λαιψηρός a compound with intensive λᾱ- : it is a secondary variant of αἰψηρός altered by analogy. The etymology and the Mycenaean names compared with these by Taillardat (1992) must therefore be abandoned.
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