κητώεσσαν

Frisk Etymological English

Grammatical information: adj.
Meaning: adjunct of κοίλην Λακεδαίμονα (Β 581, δ 1; verse end), gener. taken as full of crevices, abysses, later said of the wooden horse (Q. S. 12, 314) and, through confusion with κήτειος, κῆτος, said of πώεα, φάλαγξ (Nonn.).
Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]
Etymology: Not well explained. Zenodotus (sch. on δ 1) read καιετάεσσαν for it and understood it as καλαμινθώδη, from καιέτα (H.) or καιετας (without accent, Apoll. Lex. s. κητώεσσαν) = καλαμίνθη; by Call. Fr. 224 the Eurotas is called καιετάεις. Other informants (in Str. 8, 5, 7 and Eust. 1478, 41) connected it however with καιετοί οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν σεισμῶν ῥωχμοί and with καιέτας = καιάδας (s. v.). - Who follows the reading of Zenodotus, must consider Aristarchos' κητώεσσαν as a Verschlimmbesserung (correction which makes things worse) with connection to κῆτος. Thus Bechtel Lex. s. v., who after Buttmann Lex. 2, 92ff., Solmsen Unt. 123f. a. o. assumes a word κῆτος = crevice, abyss, which would occur in μεγα-κήτης (of δελφίς, ναῦς, evtl. also of πόντος) (diff. s. κῆτος). After Buttmann and Solmsen however κητώεσσαν (with metr. lengthening for *κητόεσσαν) is the real reading, i. e. from κῆτος as crevice, abyss. - It seems evident to connect καιέ\/άτας crevice in Sparta; perhaps καιε\/ατ- became *κηετ-ο-Ϝεσσα > *κητοϜεσσα (cf. λαίθαργος\/λήθαργος Fur. 338) of which the -ο- was lengthened. - Furnée 180 n. 6 points to the gloss ἄμυσσος κῆτος. Λάκωνες (s.s.v. βύθος), which shows that a crevice could be called κῆτος. - Ruijgh Lingua 28 (1971) derives the form from *κητοσ-Ϝεντ-.