Σελάχιον
selachian
Translated by Ronald Allen31 May 2012Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
A small fish, the only viviparous one, at first internally oviparous, except for a frog.1 The term comes from conceiving [lexw/zein ]2 internally [e)/sw ]. But Callistratus [sc. defines it as] a portion of the fish.3 It is also called a soft-fish.4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Σελάχιον· ἰχθύδιον, ὃ μόνον ζῳοτοκεῖ, πρῶτον ᾠοτοκῆσαν ἐν αὑτῷ, πλὴν βατράχου. εἴρηται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔσω λεχώζειν. Καλλίστρατος δὲ τὸ τοῦ ἰχθύος κόπαιον. λέγεται δὲ καὶ μαλάχειον.
Betacode
*sela/xion: i)xqu/dion, o(\ mo/non zw|otokei=, prw=ton w)|otokh=san e)n au(tw=|, plh\n batra/xou. ei)/rhtai de\ a)po\ tou= e)/sw lexw/zein. *kalli/stratos de\ to\ tou= i)xqu/os ko/paion. le/getai de\ kai\ mala/xeion.
Notes (4)
- Identical entry (though see n.4 below) in Photius; broadly comparable ones in Hesychius s.v. and Erotian 82.7.
The headword, generated by a passage in Aristotle (see n. 1 below), is a neuter noun in the nominative/accusative singular; see generally LSJ s.v. A diminutive ofse/laxos , and most often in the plural (cf. sigma 195), the name applies to the cartilaginous or elasmobranch fishes: sharks and rays. The name may derive fromse/las (light, gleam; cf. sigma 193), as some of these fish species emit phosphorescent light (Chantraine, s.v.se/laxos , and LSJ s.v.). - 1From Aristotle, History of Animals 6.9-10 (564b15-18). ↩
- 2This verb, registered in the Supplement to LSJ, occurs only here and Photius. ↩
- 3LSJ s.v.
kopai=on seems to assume that this is the sophist of the C4 CE, but there are other possibilities, notably FGrH 348; cf. (e.g.) alpha 3223. ↩ - 4In her critical apparatus Adler notes that mss G and M (after correction) and Photius' Lexicon transmit the alternative spelling
mala/xion ; cf. mu 98. ↩
References
P. Chantraine, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque, ed. 2, Paris: Klincksieck, 2009
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Revision history5 revisions · last 19 Dec 2014
- coding — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- cosmetic — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- modified tr; augmented notes; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Ronald Allen