χελώνη
Ancient Greek
editEtymology
editTraditionally derived from a Proto-Indo-European *gʰel(H)-ewH- (“tortoise, turtle-like animal”), and compared with Proto-Slavic *žely (“turtle, tortoise”); also related to χέλυς (khélus, “tortoise”).
However, Furnee and Chantraine consider the word a Pre-Greek borrowing based on the variant χέλυμνα (khélumna) (which yielded *χελυϝνα (*kheluwna) > χελῡ́νη (khelū́nē), χελύννα (khelúnna)) displaying μ/ϝ consonantal interchange, as well as the variant χελῡ́νη (khelū́nē) having -ῡ́ν- in its form, which is highly unusual if inherited from Proto-Indo-European.
Beekes favors the Pre-Greek derivation, and additionally separates the Slavic words etymologically, considering the Slavic to derive from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”). There doesn't seem to be a good reason to separate the Slavic terms, however; even if not inherited, there is a possibility that the Greek and Slavic terms were borrowed from the same substrate source, in addition to the *ǵʰelh₃- theory being rejected by linguists such as Schmeja.
Another theory by Mastrelli, based on work by Frisk, derives the word from χεῖλος (kheîlos, “lip, jaw”), taking the tortoise as a "sharp-jawed creature".[1]
Pronunciation
edit- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /kʰe.lɔ̌ː.nɛː/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /kʰeˈlo.ne̝/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /çeˈlo.ni/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /çeˈlo.ni/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /çeˈlo.ni/
Noun
editχελώνη • (khelṓnē) f (genitive χελώνης); first declension
Inflection
editCase / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ἡ χελώνη hē khelṓnē |
τὼ χελώνᾱ tṑ khelṓnā |
αἱ χελῶναι hai khelônai | ||||||||||
Genitive | τῆς χελώνης tês khelṓnēs |
τοῖν χελώναιν toîn khelṓnain |
τῶν χελωνῶν tôn khelōnôn | ||||||||||
Dative | τῇ χελώνῃ têi khelṓnēi |
τοῖν χελώναιν toîn khelṓnain |
ταῖς χελώναις taîs khelṓnais | ||||||||||
Accusative | τὴν χελώνην tḕn khelṓnēn |
τὼ χελώνᾱ tṑ khelṓnā |
τᾱ̀ς χελώνᾱς tā̀s khelṓnās | ||||||||||
Vocative | χελώνη khelṓnē |
χελώνᾱ khelṓnā |
χελῶναι khelônai | ||||||||||
Notes: |
|
Derived terms
edit- ἀσπιδοχελώνη (aspidokhelṓnē)
- γερροχελώνη (gerrhokhelṓnē)
- χελωνάριον (khelōnárion)
- χελωνία (khelōnía)
- χελωνιάς (khelōniás)
- χελώνινος (khelṓninos)
- χελώνιον (khelṓnion)
- χελωνίς (khelōnís)
- χελωνοειδής (khelōnoeidḗs)
- χελωνοφάγος (khelōnophágos)
Descendants
edit- Greek: χελώνα f (chelóna, “tortoise, turtle”)
- → Spanish: quelonio
- → Translingual: Chelonia, Chelonia
- → English: chelonian
References
edit- ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “χελῡ́νη 2 (> DER > With a different stem χελώνη)”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1623-4
Further reading
edit- “χελώνη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “χελώνη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
- χελώνη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Ancient Greek terms borrowed from a Pre-Greek substrate
- Ancient Greek terms derived from a Pre-Greek substrate
- Ancient Greek 3-syllable words
- Ancient Greek terms with IPA pronunciation
- Ancient Greek lemmas
- Ancient Greek nouns
- Ancient Greek paroxytone terms
- Ancient Greek feminine nouns
- Ancient Greek first-declension nouns
- Ancient Greek feminine nouns in the first declension
- grc:Reptiles