ὀλιβρόν
κακοὶ μάρτυρες ἀνθρώποισιν ὀφθαλμοὶ καὶ ὦτα βαρβάρους ψυχὰς ἐχόντων → eyes and ears are poor witnesses for men if their souls do not understand the language (Heraclitus Phil.: Fr. B 107; Testimonia: Fragment 16, line 6)
Frisk Etymological English
Grammatical information: adj.
Meaning: ὀλισθηρόν, λεῖον, ἐπισφαλές H. besides ὠλίβραξαν ὤλισθον and, without ρ, ὀλιβάξαι ὀλισθεῖν H.
Origin: IE [Indo-European]X [probably] [663] *s(h₃)lib-ro- slippery, smooth
Etymology: Can be identical with OE slipor, OHG sleffar slippery, smooth (with Norw. slipra glide) from IE *slib-ro- (ὀ- prothetic; laryngal-explanation by Austin Lang. 17, 87). Here the primary verb OHG slīfan, MLG slīpen glide, schleifen [= grind, sharpen]' a.o. Further closer or farther cognates (w. lit.) in Bq, WP. 2, 391 f., Pok. 663 u. 960, W.-Hofmann s. lībō. S. also λίμβος and ὀλισθάνω. - The problem of s- beside prothetic vowel has not been solved; s. Beekes Devel. 82-87. One might assume *sh₃-.
