Etymology of συμφορα/συμφορος

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mahasacham
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Etymology of συμφορα/συμφορος

Post by mahasacham »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ι noticed that by changing the gender of συμφορος (which I believe is based on the verb συμφορω), the meaning is diametrically changed. Ι was wondering how, making the word feminine, can change its meaning so drastically. The masculine means "profitable/accompanying" and the feminine means "misfortune/calamity". If anyone could possible explain how the transformation happened or logically explain the thought behind it would be greatly appreciated

I also noticed that in some places the σ is replaced by ξ to make ξυμφορα. Any ideas on this?

Thank you for your time

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y11971alex
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Re: Etymology of συμφορα/συμφορος

Post by y11971alex »

mahasacham wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ι noticed that by changing the gender of συμφορος (which I believe is based on the verb συμφορω), the meaning is diametrically changed. Ι was wondering how, making the word feminine, can change its meaning so drastically. The masculine means "profitable/accompanying" and the feminine means "misfortune/calamity". If anyone could possible explain how the transformation happened or logically explain the thought behind it would be greatly appreciated

I also noticed that in some places the σ is replaced by ξ to make ξυμφορα. Any ideas on this?

Thank you for your time
While I cannot hope to comment on the polar opposite definitions to the masculine and feminine forms, I can perhaps share something that I read regarding the second point.

In earlier Attic texts, σὺν is written as ξύν, which represents perhaps καὶ σὺν at an earlier date.
University of Toronto: learning Attic Greek

Qimmik
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Re: Etymology of συμφορα/συμφορος

Post by Qimmik »

σύμφορος and συμφορά are both derived from the verb συμφέρω. The basic meaning of this verb is something like "to bring together, but it has a wide range of extended meanings, including "to be useful or profitable" and "to happen."

σύμφορος is from συμφέρω meaning "to be profitable".

συμφορά is from συμφέρω meaning "to happen." It may originally have meant just "a happening" or "an event', but it came to mean "a bad event." Compare the English word "accident," which is derived from a Latin verb whose base meaning is "to happen", but which means "a bad event that happened at random."

Here is a link to the Liddell Scott Jones article on συμφέρω, which shows the full range of meanings this verb can express:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex ... sumfe%2Frw

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mahasacham
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Re: Etymology of συμφορα/συμφορος

Post by mahasacham »

Excellent. Thank you for the explanation.

anphph
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Re: Etymology of συμφορα/συμφορος

Post by anphph »

Or, in poetical terms,

«wo aber Gefahr ist, wächst das Rettende auch» (Friedrich Hölderlin)

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