ὄρθρ-ιος

Grammatical information: m.

Meaning: `time before daybreak, the time of cock-crow, first dawn', later `the beginning day, morning' (h. Merc. 98, Hes. Op. 577; on the meaning Wackernagel Unt. 193).

Compounds: Some compp., e.g. ὀρθρο-βόας m. "morning-caller", denom. of the cock (AP; cf. on ἠϊ-κανός), τὸ περί-ορθρον `dawn' (Th., Hdn.).

Derivatives: 1. Adj. ὄρθρ-ιος `belonging to ὄ., happening at ὄ.' (h. Merc. 143), Όρθρία f. name of a goddess (Schwenn RhM 86, 298); - ινός `id.' (Arat., LXX, AP, cf. ἑωθ-ινός a.o.), - ίδιος `id.' (AP: ἀΐδιος a.o.); comp. forms ὀρθριαί-τερος, - τατος (Hdn.), adv. also ὀρθρί-τερον (pap.) after πρωΐ-, ὀψί-τερον (Schwyzer 534, Radermacher Festschr. Kretschmer 154ff.). 2. Verbs: a) ὀρθρ-εύω, - ομαι `to be sleepless, awake in the early morning' (E., Theoc.) with the backformation Ὄρθρος m. name of a mythical dog (Hes. Th. 309; Kretschmer Glotta 13, 270), with ἐπ- also `to be up early' (D. Chr., Luc.); b) - ίζω `id.' (LXX, Ev. Luc.) with ( ἑπ-)ορθρισμός m. (Aq, Plu.).

Origin: IE [Indo-European]X [probably] [cf. 1167]

Etymology: Already the meaning `time before daybreak, first light of the morning' is not favourable to the old connection to Lat. ( sol) oriens, ortus m. `rise (of a star)'; if Ϝορθ-αγορίσκος stands for *Ϝορθρ- (cf. s.v.), this explanation is definitely impossible. Then ὄρθρος can better be connected with ὀρθός a. cogn., with which esp. the Slavic cognates, e.g. OCS ranъ `ὄρθριος' Russ. ráno `early' are remarkable. The supposed suffixdiff. in ranъ from *u̯rōdh-no- and ὄρθ-ρος has been explained from an old interchange n: r [which does not seem very probable]. Thus ὄρθρος would be prop. "the growing (of the daylight)" after the dark of midnight, what would agree better with the orig. use of ὄρθρος. -- Lit. s. on ὀρθός (after J. Schmidt KZ 33. 456f., Lidén GHÅ 5 [1899] 23f.); Benveniste Origines 19.

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