Πτερυγίζειν
to flap one's wings
Translated by William Hutton18 Aug 2013Vetting: high3 revisions
Translation
Meaning to accomplish nothing. From fledglings making an attempt to fly. Aristophanes in Wealth [writes]: "but you are babbling and flapping your wings."1 Meaning you are causing a commotion. For a wing is noisy and causes a commotion. Or [meaning] you are talking frivolously, or you are laboring in vain. From a metaphor of fledglings that are not able to fly because of the shortness of their life. Or [meaning] you are conversing in vain. From fledglings,2 who make trial of their wings but are not able to take flight. Thus [the word means] you also wish to speak in opposition and you try to, but you accomplish nothing.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Πτερυγίζειν· ἀντὶ τοῦ μηδὲν ἀνύειν. ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπιβαλλομένων πέτεσθαι νεοσσῶν. Ἀριστοφάνης Πλούτῳ. ἀλλὰ φλυαρεῖς καὶ πτερυγίζεις. ἀντὶ τοῦ θορυβῇ. τὸ γὰρ πτερὸν ἠχῶδες καὶ θορυβητικόν. ἢ κοῦφα λαλεῖς. ἢ ματαιοπονεῖς. ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῶν νεοσσῶν τῶν μὴ δυναμένων πέτεσθαι διὰ τὸ βραχὺ τῆς ἡλικίας. ἢ μάταια διαλέγῃ. ἀπὸ τῶν νεοττῶν, οἳ πειράζουσι μὲν τὰς πτέρυγας, ἵπτασθαι δὲ οὐ δύνανται. οὕτω καὶ σὺ θέλεις μὲν ἀντειπεῖν καὶ πειράζεις, ἀνύεις δὲ οὐδέν.
Betacode
*pterugi/zein: a)nti\ tou= mhde\n a)nu/ein. a)po\ tw=n e)piballome/nwn pe/tesqai neossw=n. *)aristofa/nhs *plou/tw|. a)lla\ fluarei=s kai\ pterugi/zeis. a)nti\ tou= qorubh=|. to\ ga\r ptero\n h)xw=des kai\ qorubhtiko/n. h)\ kou=fa lalei=s. h)\ mataioponei=s. a)po\ metafora=s tw=n neossw=n tw=n mh\ duname/nwn pe/tesqai dia\ to\ braxu\ th=s h(liki/as. h)\ ma/taia diale/gh|. a)po\ tw=n neottw=n, oi(\ peira/zousi me\n ta\s pte/rugas, i(/ptasqai de\ ou) du/nantai. ou(/tw kai\ su\ qe/leis me\n a)nteipei=n kai\ peira/zeis, a)nu/eis de\ ou)de/n.
Notes (2)
- 1Aristophanes, Wealth [Plutus] 575, with comments from the scholia there. Likewise in Photius, Lexicon pi1472 Theodoridis; and cf. Hesychius pi4210. ↩
- 2This part of the entry uses a Atticizing form of the word for fledgling (
neottw=n ), whereas the other references to fledglings in the entry use the standard Koine formneossw=n . ↩
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Revision history3 revisions · last 25 May 2016
- coding — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- expanded n.1; more keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — William Hutton