μελαιναῖος

Grammatical information: adj.

Meaning: `dark-coloured, black' (Il.); μελάν-τερος (Il.), - τατος (IA.), late μελανώτερος Str.), μελαινοτάτη ( Epigr. Gr., AP; Leumann Mus. Helv. 2,9f. = Kl.Schr. 223f.).

Other forms: (Aeol. - αις), - αινα, - αν.

Compounds: Very often as 1. member, e.g. μελάγ-χροος (pl. - ες), - χροιής, - χρής, - χρως- μελανό-χροος etc. `with dark skin' (see Sommer Nominalkomp. 21ff.; also Treu Von Homer zur Lyrik 52 a. 80); μελαγ-χιμος `dark, black' (A., E., X.), with faded 2. member, cp. δύσ-χιμος and Sommer 71ff.; μελάν-δετος prob. `dark-striped' or `with dark bands' (O713, A., E.; Trümpy Fachausdrücke 62, Risch 189); μελάν-δρυ-ος `of black wood (δόρυ)' (A. Fr. 251), n. `heart-wood, marrow' (Thphr., Strömberg Theophrastea 128), pl. `piece of tunny', with which μελάν-δρυς m. `tunny' (Pamphil.; Strömberg Fischnamen 128); μελάμ-πυρον n. (- ος m.) `ball-mustard, Neslia paniculata' (Thphr., Gal.); with the form. cf. διόσπυρον (s.v.), on the meaning Carnoy REGr. 71, 96; μελαγ-κάλαμον n. dvandva `ink and pen' (pap. V^p, Maas Glotta 35, 299f.). Often in PN, with as shortnames e.g. Μελαινεύς, Μελανεύς, Μελανθεύς, Μέλανθος (Boßhardt 95, 101, 154, Schwyzer 263).

Derivatives: 1. μελαιν-άς f. name of a dark-coloured fish (Cratin. [?]; Strömberg Fischnamen 22); - ίς f. name of a sea-shell (Sophr., Herod., Xenokr.), also name of Aphrodite in Corinth (Ath.). 2. μελάν-ιον n. `ink' (pap., Edict. Diocl.; from μέλαν, Georgacas Glotta 36, 169). 3. μελαν-ία f. `blackness, black shadow, black colour' (X., Arist.), - ότης f. `blackness' (Arist.: λευκότης). 4. μελανός = μέλας (Sp.), - όν n. `black pigment' ( Sammelb. IV^p); after κελαινός, ὀρφνός etc.; μελαιναῖος `id.' ( Orac. Sib.; after κνεφαῖος a.o.; Chantraine Form. 47); μελανώδης `blackish' (EM). -- Denominative verbs: 1. μελαίνομαι, -ω `become, make dark, black' (Il.); from this μέλανσις f. `blackening' (Arist.), μέλασ-μα n. `black spot, black paint' (Hp.), - μός m. `blackening, black spot' (Hp., Plu.), μελαντηρ-ία f. `black pigment, blackness' (IG 2<sup>2</sup>, 1672, Arist.), - ιον `stain' (sch.). 2. μελάνω `become (make?) black' (H 64; Schwyzer 700, Shipp Studies 37). 3. μελανέω intr. `id.' (Thphr., A. R., Call.)

Origin: IE [Indo-European]X [probably] [720] * mel(h₂)- `black'

Etymology: To μέλᾱς \< *μέλᾰν-ς, μέλαινα (\< - αν- ι̯α), μέλᾰν is τάλᾱς, τάλαινα, τάλαν a parallel, where it must be noted that τάλας seems to be an orig. ντ-stem. --The identification of μέλαινα with Skt. f. malinī (supp. IE *melh₂n-i̯ǝ), to which a consonantic m. μελαν- was innovated for an older *μέλανος = Skt. malina-'dirty' (Schwyzer IF 30, 446ff. after Brugmann Grundr. 2: 1, 256 n. 1), fails because malinī is known only as a gloss and in the sense of `menstruating woman'; masc. malina- is further an ep.-class. deriv. from Ved. mála- n. `dirt'; s. Sommer Nominalkomp. 25, Wackernagel-Debrunner II: 2, 351 f. Of the many words cited under the words mel- indicating colour in WP. 2, 293 f., Pok. 720 f. only a few Baltic formations with n-suffix are interesting, Latv. męl̃ns `black' (see Fraenkel Gnomon 22, 237), OPr. melne `blue spot', mīlinan acc. f. `spot' (further Fraenkel Wb. s. mė́las 2). -- Further s. μολύνω, also μελίνη and μώλωψ.

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