πήγανον

Forms

πήγᾰνον (pḗganon) n (genitive πηγᾰ́νου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes considers it probably Pre-Greek, because of the variant φαίκανον (phaíkanon), which Hesychius glosses as rue: the alternations of ⟨π⟩ with ⟨φ⟩ and of ⟨η⟩ with ⟨αι⟩ are features of Pre-Greek.^[2][3] Its suffix is that of other plant names, such as λάχανον (lákhanon), πλάτανος (plátanos) and ῥάφανος (rháphanos).^[2][4][5] Frisk and Chantraine also think a borrowing the least objectionable view.^[5][4]

From Plutarch on it has been derived from πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “to fix, make solid”), either as “planted” or, as Chantraine notes, because rue was thought to stop bleeding, but Frisk finds the meaning not yet adequately explained.^[4][5][6] Frisk notes that it is identical in form with Latin pāgina, but probably independent of it.^[5] Wiktionary compares Old Georgian ტეგანი (ṭegani, “rue”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest attestation is in Aristophanes' Wasps, in a proverb, and in the Hippocratic writers, who use the herb in remedies.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Rue was an important medicinal plant in antiquity.^[4] The physician Diocles, the historian Theopompus, the comic poet Alexis and Theophrastus name it, and Dioscorides distinguishes a mountain or wild rue.^[8] In the Gospel of Luke rue is one of the garden herbs that are tithed.^[9]

Medieval vernacular Greek kept it with many forms, among them the masculine πήγανος (píganos) and απήγανος (apíganos), whose initial α- comes from the indefinite article run together with the noun.^[10][11] Modern Greek has απήγανος (apíganos), mostly in the phrase “may he be exorcised with rue”.^[11]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes' Wasps has a proverb with rue, and Hippocratic writers prescribe it.^[8][7][12]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus describes the plant.^[8][12]
• 1st century AD – Dioscorides distinguishes a wild mountain rue.^[8][12]
• Modern Greek – απήγανος (apíganos) continues it.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. Rue, Ruta graveolens, a strong-smelling medicinal herb.^[8][13]
2. (with ὀρεινόν or ἄγριον) Mountain or wild rue, Ruta halepensis.^[8]

Usage notes

Aristophanes' proverb “neither on the parsley nor on the rue”, meaning hardly even at the edge or beginning of something, refers to these herbs being planted as borders in gardens.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ 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
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
11. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
12. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
13. ^ Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press