μαλθακός

Pronunciation

• 5th-century BC Attic: /mal.tʰa.kós/^[1]
• 4th-century AD Koine: /mal.θaˈkos/^[1]
• 10th-century Byzantine: /mal.θaˈkos/^[1]

Forms

μᾰλθᾰκός (malthakós) m (feminine μᾰλθᾰκή, neuter μᾰλθᾰκόν); first/second declension^[1] Aeolic μόλθακος (mólthakos) (Alcaeus).^[2][3]

Etymology

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, from Pre-Greek.^[2][4] An Indo-European *ml̥dʰ- would have given *βλαθ- (*blath-); the vowel varies between ⟨α⟩ and ⟨ο⟩, as in Aeolic μόλθακος (mólthakos); and the suffix -ακός (-akós), with a variant in ⟨-αγ-⟩ if μαλθάζω (maltházō) is old, is a well-known Pre-Greek suffix.^[2][4]

It is formed like μαλακός (malakós, “soft”), and the two synonyms probably influenced each other.^[2][5][6] Beekes holds that they cannot be related, since that word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mlh₂-ek- and this one shows no trace of the laryngeal.^[2][1]

The older view, which the LIV keeps, derives it from *meldʰ- and compares Germanic words for “mild”, such as Old High German milti, and Sanskrit मर्धति (márdhati, “to neglect”).^[2][1][5] Solmsen saw in μάλθη (málthē) the feminine of an older adjective *μαλθός (*malthós, “weak”), but Chantraine finds this doubtful.^[2][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it describes a faint-hearted spearman.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Most uses are metaphorical: faint-hearted or cowardly, in Aeschylus and Euripides, and weak or feeble in Aristophanes.^[7] Of things soft to the touch it is used of flowers in a Homeric Hymn, of dew and limbs in Pindar, of the skin in Euripides, and of soft cushions in Aristophanes.^[7] The Hippocratic writings call marsh water and a slow fire by it, and Aeschylus stoneless ground.^[7] In a good sense it means gentle or mild, of sleep in Hesiod, of a weak wine in the Hippocratic writings, and of a voice or song in Pindar.^[7] The late medical writer Caelius Aurelianus uses it as an equivalent of κίναιδος (kínaidos).^[7]

Plato has the noun μαλθακία (malthakía), “softness”, and Aeschylus, Euripides and Plato the verb μαλθακίζομαι (malthakízomai), “to be or become soft”.^[2] It survives as the learned Modern Greek μαλθακός (malthakós).^[8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of a faint-hearted spearman.^[7][9]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod calls sleep gentle with it.^[7][10]
• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus uses the Aeolic form, and Sappho uses it of soft things.^[7][10]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of dew, limbs and a gentle voice.^[7][10]
• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writings use it of marsh water and a slow fire.^[7][10]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it as an equivalent of κίναιδος (kínaidos).^[7][10]
• Modern Greek – The learned Modern Greek μαλθακός (malthakós) continues it.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Soft to the touch, of flowers, dew, limbs or skin; of ground, free of stones.^[7]
2. Faint-hearted, cowardly; weak, feeble.^[7][2]
3. In a good sense, gentle or mild: of sleep, wine, a voice or song.^[7][2]
4. (late) Equivalent to κίναιδος (kínaidos).^[7]

Word family

• μαλθακία (malthakía)
• μαλθακίζομαι (malthakízomai)
• μαλθακόφωνος (malthakóphōnos)

Related words

• μαλακός (malakós)
• μάλθη (málthē)

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 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
3. ^ Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c 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
6. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge