Μορφνός
dusky one
Translated by Ronald Allen4 Aug 2009Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
Greek original · Adler’s text
Μορφνός· εἶδος ἀετοῦ. οἱονεὶ μορόφονός τις ὤν, ὁ ἀεὶ περὶ φόνου μεμορημένος· μόνοι γὰρ οὗτοι τῶν ἀετῶν οὐ κυνηγοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ νεκροῖς σώμασι τρέφονται.
Betacode
*morfno/s: ei)=dos a)etou=. oi(onei\ moro/fono/s tis w)/n, o( a)ei\ peri\ fo/nou memorhme/nos: mo/noi ga\r ou(=toi tw=n a)etw=n ou) kunhgou=sin, a)lla\ nekroi=s sw/masi tre/fontai.
Notes (3)
- A variant spelling of the headword exists, with accent on the penult, but the sense is dubious in either case: see Cunliffe, p. 273 and LSJ s.v.
mo/rfnos, -o( .
The headword and glosses (see n. 1-2 below) are generated from Homer, Iliad 24.316 (web address 1) and its scholia, where the masculine accusative singular form of the headword,mo/rfnon (dusky), appears as an epithet of the eagle; cf. mu 1268 and Richardson, p. 305. As a substantive, though, the headword occurs at Aristotle, History of Animals 618b26. The change in accentuation from ultima to penult may indicate a change from adjective to substantive in the word's usage (Chantraine s.v.mo/rfnos ). - 1For the masculine accusative singular form of the headword, other lexica (see the references at Photius mu542 Theodoridis) and a scholion to Homer, Iliad 24.316 (see above) all provide the same gloss; cf. Etymologicum Magnum 591.16 (Kallierges). ↩
- 2cf. (e.g.) the scholia to Homer, Iliad 24.316 (above) and Etymologicum Magnum 591.22 (Kallierges). The term
moro/fonos occurs only in the explanations of this passage. ↩ - 3The Suda appears to associate the ominous bird with a carrion eater; however, the reference at Homer, Iliad 24.316 (see above) is to a bird that is a
mo/rfnon qhrhth=ra (dusky hunter, masculine accusative singular). The one plausible identity for the bird, assuming the treasury-door imagery for the huge wingspread at Homer, Iliad 24.317-18 (web address 1) to be accurate, is the Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos (Richardson, pp. 305-6; Peterson, p. 77). ↩
References
R.J. Cunliffe, A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963
N. Richardson, The Iliad: A Commentary, vol. VI, gen. ed. G.S. Kirk, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993
P. Chantraine, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque, ed. 2. Paris 2009.
R.T. Peterson, G. Mountfort, and P.A.D. Hollom, A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, 4th edn., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983
N. Richardson, The Iliad: A Commentary, vol. VI, gen. ed. G.S. Kirk, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993
P. Chantraine, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque, ed. 2. Paris 2009.
R.T. Peterson, G. Mountfort, and P.A.D. Hollom, A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, 4th edn., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
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Revision history6 revisions · last 21 Apr 2015
- tweaked note — Catharine Roth
- tweaked link, cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- deleted duplicate link — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- adjusted Homer ref; expanded n.2; another keyword; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Ronald Allen