ἐλαττον-ότης

ἐλαττον-ότης, ητος, ἡ,

A being less, opp. μειζονότης, Iamb.in Nic.p.33 P.

Grammatical information: adj.

Meaning: `small' (Call. Hek. 3 K.)

Other forms: ἐλάχεια hAP 197 (on the accent Wackernagel Gött. Nachr. 1914, 115f. = Kl. Schr. 2, 1172f., Schwyzer 379; ι 116, κ 509 as v. l. to λάχεια; cf. Leumann Hom. Wörter 54;, ἐλαχύ (AP); masc. also ἔλαχος (Call., s. Leumann l. c.);

Compounds: As 1. member in ἐλαχυ-πτέρυξ, [ἐλα]χύ-νωτος (Pi.).

Derivatives: Comp. ἐλά̄σσων, - ττων (Il.), Sup. ἐλᾰ́χιστος (Ion.-Att.). - From ἐλάσσων, - ττων (Schwyzer 731f.): denomin. ἐλασσόομαι, - ττόομαι `become smaller, be inferior, be damaged' (Ion.-Att.), - όω `diminish, damage' (Lys., Isok.) with ἐλάττωσις `diminution, disadvantage, want, loss' (Antipho Soph., Pl. Def., Arist.) and ἐλαττωτικός `not insisting on his rights, diminishing' (Arist.), ἐλάσσωμα, - ττωμα `id.' (D.). From ἔλασσον-, - ττον-: ἐλαττον-άκις `less often' (Pl., Arist., after πλεον-ακις), ἐλαττον-ότης `be inferior' (Iamb.; beside μειζον-ότης); ἐλασσον-έω, - ττονέω `have or give less, to be defective' (LXX, pap.), ἐλαττον-όω `diminish' (LXX). From ἐλάχιστος: ἐλαχιστ-άκις `very rarely' (Hp.), ἐλαχιστ-ιαῖος `of smallest size, infinitesimal' (Diog. Oen. 2).

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [660] * h₁lngʷʰu- `light, quick'

Etymology: Old adjective, identical with Skt. laghú-, raghú- `quick, light, small', Av. ragu- `quick'; from an IE zero grade *h₁ln̥gʷʰ-ú-. The full grade h₁lengʷʰ- in Av. comp. rǝnǰyō (with analogical superlativ rǝnǰišta-), in Lith. lẽngvas and in Goth. leihts ` leicht', if, as prob., from PGm. * linχta-, IE * h₁lengʷʰ- to-. Toch. B laṅktse `light. Without nasal, with ĕ-vowel Lat. lĕvis `light, small, quick', with reduced vowel OCS lьgъ-kъ `light', with a-vowel Celt., e. g. OIr. comp. laigiu `smaller, worse', PCelt. *lag-i̯ōs (positive bec(c)). These forms cannot be all at once explained. W.-Hofmann s. levis, Fraenkel Lit. et. Wb. s. lẽngvas, Vasmer Russ. et. Wb. s. lëgkij (2, 24). - The vowellength in ἐλά̄σσων is secondary, s. Schwyzer 538 w. n. 4; also Seiler Steigerungsformen 43f.

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