ὀλολύζω

Forms

ὀλολῡ́ζω (ololū́zō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is an onomatopoeic formation with reduplication, with the same ending as other verbs for cries, such as ἰύζω (iúzō), βαΰζω (baǘzō) and γογγύζω (gongúzō).^[2][3] Similar forms, whether related or parallel creations, are Latin ululō (“to howl”) with ulula (“owl”), Sanskrit उलूलि (ulūli, “a howling”) and Sanskrit उलूक (úlūka-, “owl”), all with ⟨u⟩.^[2][1][3] The Greek ⟨ο⟩ may come from dissimilation, or it may stand in ablaut with ἐλελεῦ (eleleû).^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Odyssey it is the loud cry of women: they raise it when a sacrificial victim is struck down, after a prayer, and in triumph over men who have been killed.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb was mostly used of women crying out at a moment of religious power: a sacrifice, a prayer, the epiphany or the birth of a god, as in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo.^[5][4] Aeschylus' Eumenides calls for the cry, and Euripides uses it of the Bacchants.^[4][5] When men used it in Aristophanes, it marked a moment of religious significance.^[5]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament it became a cry of grief: the Epistle of James tells the rich to weep and howl over their miseries.^[7][4] Modern Greek ολολύζω (ololízo) now means to lament heart-rendingly.^[8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Odyssey uses it for the women's cry at a sacrifice.^[4][6]
• 6th century BC – The Homeric Hymn to Apollo uses it for goddesses crying out at Apollo's birth.^[4][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus' Eumenides calls for the cry.^[4][9]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it for the Bacchants.^[6][5][9]
• New Testament – The Epistle of James uses it for wailing over misfortune.^[7]
• Modern Greek – It means to lament loudly.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. (chiefly of women) To utter a loud ritual cry, at a sacrifice, after a prayer, or at the appearance or birth of a god.^[4][5]
2. To shout in triumph or joy.^[4][5]
3. (Septuagint, New Testament) To wail in grief.^[7]

Word family

• ὀλολυγή (ololūgḗ)
• ὀλολυγμός (ololugmós)

Related words

• Latin ululō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 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 g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
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 Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
9. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge