Νηρίτης
nereites, nerites, sea-snail
Translated by Nick Nicholas6 Oct 2009Vetting: high3 revisions
Translation
A maritime snail.1
[sc. The word is formed] out of the [verb]ne/w , [contracted form] nw= , [future] nh/sw , the [verb meaning] I swim,2 [which gives rise to nhro/s ["fresh"], a fish.3 And 'a nêros corner' in Lycophron [is] hollow, or completely wet.4 And that is the derivation of nêritês. For if it were formed out of the [name] Nereus, as some claim, the penult of nêritês would be a diphthong.5
[sc. The word is formed] out of the [verb]
Greek original · Adler’s text
Νηρίτης· θαλάσσιος κόχλος. ἐκ τοῦ νέω, νῶ, νήσω, τὸ κολυμβῶ, νηρός, ἰχθύς. καὶ νηρὸς μυχὸς παρὰ Λυκόφρονι ὁ κοῖλος, ἢ κάθυγρος. καὶ ἐκ τοιαύτης παραγωγῆς ὁ νηρίτης. εἰ γὰρ ἦν κατά τινας ἐκ τοῦ Νηρεύς, διὰ διφθόγγου ἂν εἶχε τὴν παραλήγουσαν ὁ νηρίτης.
Betacode
*nhri/ths: qala/ssios ko/xlos. e)k tou= ne/w, nw=, nh/sw, to\ kolumbw=, nhro/s, i)xqu/s. kai\ nhro\s muxo\s para\ *luko/froni o( koi=los, h)\ ka/qugros. kai\ e)k toiau/ths paragwgh=s o( nhri/ths. ei) ga\r h)=n kata/ tinas e)k tou= *nhreu/s, dia\ difqo/ggou a)\n ei)=xe th\n paralh/gousan o( nhri/ths.
Notes (5)
- 1From the scholia to Lycophron, Alexandra 238. ↩
- 2cf. nu 103, nu 226, nu 338. ↩
- 3As also noted in nu 334, the Suda may well be alluding to the vernacular meaning of
nhro/s , "water". The mention of "fish" is irrelevant, unless the lexicographer is instead derivingnhro/s as "a swimmer", i.e. a species of marine life. ↩ - 4A misreading of Lycophron, Alexandra 896, which has
e)n xqono\s neiroi=s muxoi=s "in the lowest corners of the ground". LSJ notes this as a false reading undernhro/s II.2. ↩ - 5That is, a derivation from
*nhreu/s would result in the spellingnhrei/ths . As it turns out, both spellings are listed in LSJ. The TLG hasnhrei/ths in the Aristotelian corpus, andnhri/ths in subsequent texts, starting with Lycophron. Frisk's Etymological Dictionary does not rule out a connection with Nereus (nu 328), and thinks a connection withnhro/n implausible. ↩
Linked from4 entries
- ν103ΝέαιNeaiAn island near Lemnos ([sc. named] from the [verb] ne/w, [meaning] I dive/swim), to which, they say, Heracles swam. According to some, Philoctetes was bitten by a water-snake there. But Nea [is] a Mysian fortress. [Its]…
- ν226ΝέωI swim[Meaning] I dive/swim, and I go.
- ν420ΝιρεύςNireusHe who is fine and beautiful. [sc. Not to be confused with] neireus, a murex, [or] Nereus, the sea [god].
- ν527ΝῶI heap up, I swim, I flow, I spinA verb, of which the[se] inflections are in use. [(A) The verb] nw=, [meaning] I pile up; out of which [comes] nh=sai, to pile up. Also nhdu/s ["stomach, womb"], [that] into which nourishment is piled up. [(B) The verb]…
Neighbouring entries
Revision history3 revisions · last 19 May 2016
- coding — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- augmented notes and keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Nick Nicholas