λαγώς

Forms

λᾰγώς (lagṓs) m (genitive λᾰγώ); second declension^[1] Epic and Aristotelian λαγωός (lagōós),^[2] Ionic, Doric and in tragedy and comedy λαγός (lagós).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is traditionally analysed as a compound meaning “with flabby ears”, from Ancient Greek *λαγο- (*lago-, “slack”) + οὖς (oûs, “ear”), an adjective of the bahuvrihi type; the first part is the stem of λαγαρός (lagarós, “slack”).^[4][3][1] The Homeric λαγωός (lagōós) is the older form, and the Attic form came from it by contraction, while the Ionic λαγός (lagós) follows the ordinary second declension.^[4][3] Szemerényi argued that the compound was rather *λαγωϝής (*lagōwḗs), which can be restored in Homer and could have given the Attic form.^[4][3]

Names of the hare as “long-ear” are found elsewhere too, as in Ossetian тӕрхъус (tærqus) and a Persian word meaning “donkey-ear”.^[4][3][1] It was probably a taboo word of hunters' language, because the animal could bring bad luck.^[4][3]

Ancient grammarians explained it as an intensive λα- (la-) with the Doric word for “ear”, the animal with big ears.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer has it as λαγωός (lagōós), the hare, hunted by hounds in the Iliad.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The hare stood for the coward: a man was called a hare, Demosthenes reproaches an opponent with living a hare's life, in fear and trembling, and a proverb spoke of someone more cowardly than a Phrygian hare.^[2][7] Other proverbs said “a sleeping hare” of people feigning sleep and “the hare runs for its flesh” of those fleeing a death close at hand.^[2]

The name was also given to a bird with feathered feet, to the sea hare, a sea slug, to a constellation and to a kind of bandage.^[2][4][3]

Medieval Greek remade the Attic word as Modern Greek λαγός (lagós), the Modern Greek word for the hare, unless that continues the old Ionic λαγός directly; the diminutive λαγουδάκι comes from it.^[8][9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use λαγωός (lagōós) for the hare.^[2][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus has the Attic form in the Eumenides.^[6][2][10]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the Ionic λαγός (lagós).^[2][10]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes reproaches an opponent with living a hare's life.^[2][7][10]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Aratus names a constellation the Hare.^[2][10]
• Medieval Greek – The form λαγός (lagós) prevails, and survives in Modern Greek.^[8][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hare.^[2][7]
2. (figurative) A coward.^[2][7]
3. A bird with rough, feathered feet.^[2]
4. The sea hare, a sea slug.^[2][3]
5. (astronomy) The constellation of the Hare.^[2]
6. (medicine) A kind of bandage.^[2][3]

Word family

• λάγινος (láginos)
• λαγωβόλον (lagōbólon)
• λαγώπους (lagṓpous)

Related words

• λαγαρός (lagarós)
• οὖς (oûs)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d e f Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
6. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
10. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge