νήθω

Forms

νήθω (nḗthō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek νέω (néō, “to spin”) with a dental enlargement, as κνήθω (knḗthō) stands beside κνάω (knáō) and πλήθω (plḗthō) beside πίμπλημι (pímplēmi); perhaps κλώθω (klṓthō, “to spin”) is similar.^[2][3][1]

The simple verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sneh₁- (“to spin”), whose initial /sn/ shows in Aeolic ἔννη (énnē) and Homeric ἐύννητος (eúnnētos, “well-spun”).^[2] Cognate with Old Irish sníid (“spins”), Latin neō (“to spin”), Old High German nāen (“to sew”) and Lithuanian nýtis (“warp thread”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are in the 5th century BC, in the comic poet Cratinus and in Plato's Statesman, meaning to spin.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It became the usual present of the old verb νέω (néō) “to spin”, though Pollux says it is not Attic.^[5][3] The Septuagint uses it ten times, all in Exodus.^[6] In the New Testament the lilies of the field neither toil nor spin.^[7][8] It also appears in Callimachus, Galen and the epigrams of the Greek Anthology.^[3][8]

It survives in Modern Greek γνέθω (gnétho) “to spin”, a blend of the ancient verbs νέω and νήθω.^[9][1]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Cratinus uses it of spinning.^[3][10]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato's Statesman uses it.^[3][4][10]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Callimachus uses it of spinning.^[8][10]
• 3rd century BC – The Septuagint uses it in Exodus.^[6][4]
• 1st century AD – The Gospels of Matthew and Luke say that lilies do not spin.^[7][4]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it.^[3][10]
• Modern Greek – It survives as γνέθω (gnétho).^[9][1]

Meanings

Verb

1. To spin thread or wool.^[3][8][7]

Related words

• νέω (néō)
• νῆμα (nêma)
• κλώθω (klṓthō)
• Latin neō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
5. ^ 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 Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
7. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
8. ^ a b c d Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge