δεύω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Παρὰ δέ τισι καὶ Δεὺς λέγεται, τάχα ἀπὸ τοῦ δεύειν τὴν γῆν ἢ μεταδιδόναι τοῖς ζῶσι ζωτικῆς ἰκμάδος
Translation (En)
By some he is called Deus, certainly from deuein "to wet" the earth or because he gives to living beings a share of life-giving dampness
Parallels
Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, zeta 7 (Ζεύς (Α 175 alibi): οὕτως ἐκλήθη ὁ πρότερον Δίν καλούμενος διὰ τὸ διαμένειν τὸν χρόνον· βέλτιον δὲ ὅτι τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῖν ἐστι παρασκευαστικός· οἱ δὲ ὅτι τὸ ζ τοῦ δ ἀδελφός, {δὲ} Ζεὺς οὖν ὅτι δεύει καὶ βροχῆς αἴτιός ἐστι); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 1, 687 (ὥσπερ Ζεύς Διός, παρὰ τὸ ζῶ ἢ παρὰ τὸ δεύω); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 409 (Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δεύω, τὸ βρέχω, δεύσω, Δεὺς καὶ Ζεύς· ὑέτιος γὰρ ὁ θεός); Tzetzès, Exegesis in Homeri Iliadem A, line 422, sch. 78 (Ζεὺς νῦν τὸ ὄμβριον, ὡς ἔφην, κατάστημα παρὰ τὸ δεύω, δεύσω, Δεὺς καὶ Ζεύς· ὡς καὶ προκόπιος, οἶμαι, γράφει); Anonymi exegesis in Hesiodi Theogoniam p. 409 (δία γὰρ τὸ ὕδωρ οἱ Δωριεῖς φασιν, τὸ ζ εἰς δ τρέποντες, ὡς Ζεὺς καὶ Διὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ δεύειν); Scholia in Aristophanis Nubes 365a (Ζεὺς γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ δεύω, ὃ δηλοῖ βρέχω ⸢· ὁ μέλλων δεύσω καὶ ἀφαιρέσει τοῦ ω δεὺς καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ δ εἰς ζ Ζεύς); Scholia in Oppinaum, Hal. 1, 409 (Ζεὺς ἢ ὅτι μόνος ἔζησεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ δεύω τὸ βρέχω Δεὺς καὶ Ζεύς· ὑέτιος γὰρ ὁ ἀήρ)
Comment
This etymology starts from a dialect form of the theonym, Deus instead of Zeus, attested in Laconian, Rhodian, Corinthian and Boeotian, which is a pretext to a new etymology in line with Zeus' function as storm god and master of the sky, and as such cause of the rain. The etymology is older than Cornutus and can be traced back at least to the 3rd c. BC. It is implicit but very clear in Apollonius Rhodius' learned figura etymologica in Arg. 4, 269-270 Διόθεν δέ μιν οὔποτε δεύει | ὄμβρος.