ῥᾶ

English (LSJ)

Adv.

   A easily, Alcm.42, S.Fr.1086, Ion Trag.66. [Codd. vary between ῥᾶ and ῥᾴ; only ῥᾴ (ῥάι) seems to be admitted by A.D.Adv. 156.8, Eust.163.20, but ῥᾶ is prob. correct Attic and Dor. for Ρᾱᾰ whence Ep. Ρῆα (written ῥεῖα in Hom. but ῥήα in Alc.Supp.12.7), later Ion. ῥέα (q.v.); cf. Aeol. βρᾷ.]
ῥᾶ, τό,

   A rhubarb, Rheum officinale, Dsc.3.2; growing near the river Rha (mod. Volga), whence its name acc. to Amm.Marc.22.8.28; cf. ῥῆον.

German (Pape)

[Seite 829] τό, die Wurzel ciner Pflanze aus dem Geschlechte Rheum, in welches unser Rhabarber gehört, Diosc.; nach einem Fluß in Pontus benannt, Amm. Marcell. 22, 8, dah. rha Ponticum.

Russian (Dvoretsky)

ῥᾶ: v. l. ῥᾴ арх. Soph. = ῥᾴδιον (см. ῥᾳδιος).

Frisk Etymological English

Grammatical information: Adv.
Meaning: easy (Alcm., S.Fr. 1086, Ion. trag.).
Other forms: ep. ῥῆα (wr. ῥεῖα), ῥέα (monosyll. reading necessary or possible; so for Aeol. ῥᾶ?), Ion. ῥέα (Simon.), Aeol. βρᾶ ( = Ϝρᾶ, gramm., ῥῆα in Alc. homerism or mistake of the tradit.).
Compounds: As 1. member in ῥᾳ-θυμος lighthearted, carefree (Att.) from *ῥαΐ-θυμος (as καλλί-ζωνος a.o.), if not secondary for the well attested ῥά-θυμος (Wackernagel Hell. 26 = Kl. Schr. 2, 1057).
Derivatives: Comp.forms: comp. ep. ῥηΐτερον, Ion. ῥῄτερον (Thgn.), Dor. ῥᾳτερον (Pi.), also Ion. ῥήϊον, Att. ῥᾳ̃ον; to this ῥᾶσσον (gramm. in EM) after θᾶσσον (Seiler Steigerungsformen 73); sup. ep. ῥηΐτατα, Ion. ῥήϊστα, Dor. ῥάϊστα (Theoc.), Att. ῥᾳ̃στα. From the adv. arose the adj. forms ῥηΐτερος, ῥήϊστος, ῥᾳων, ῥᾳ̃στος; from ῥῆα, ῥᾶ the pos. ῥη-ϊδίως, Att. ῥᾳδίως, Aeol. βρα-ϊδίως (Alc.), to which the adj. ῥηΐδιος, ῥᾳδιος (like μαψ-ιδίως, -ίδιος a.o.); to this ῥᾳδιέστερος a. o. -- From ῥήϊον, ῥᾳ̃ον: ῥηΐζω, ῥαΐζω, aor. -ίσαι to recover (IA.) and ῥαΐαν ὑγείαν H. From ῥήϊστος, ῥᾳ̃στος : ῥῃστώνη, ῥᾳστώνη f. recovery, leisurely condition, leisure (IA.); formation unclear, cf. Schwyzer IF 45, 259ff., Meid IF 62, 277. Further details in Schwyzer 467 a. 539, Wackernagel Verm. Beitr. 11ff. (= Kl. Schr. 1, 772ff.), Seiler Steigerungsformen 72f., Leumann Hom. Wörter 18 n. 10.
Origin: XX [etym. unknown]
Etymology: From ep. ῥῆα and Aeol. βρᾶ we reconstruct PGr. *Ϝρᾶα, which can stand for *Ϝρᾶσ-α, perh. for *Ϝρᾶι̯-α; on the ending -α Schwyzer 622. No doubt old, inherited word, but without certain etymology. After Hermann Gött. Nachr. 1918, 281 f. prop. raisable (Lat. levis : levāre), to Lith. viršùs the upper, Skt. vársman-'hight', to which also ἀπηύρα, ἀπούρας (doubts in Kretschmer Glotta 11, 249). To ἀπηύρα (but further diff.) also Schwyzer IF 45, 259ff. Still diff. Specht KZ 59, 93ff.: to ἀραιός thin (s. Schwyzer 539 w. n. 3). Szemerényi, Welt d. Slaven (1967) 272f. connects Av. uruuaza- joy, bliss, from IE *u̯radh-s- (but then the -s- would have been preserved in Greek); Pisani Acme 8(1955)117f.
Meaning: plant name
See also: s. ῥῆον