κέρδος: Difference between revisions

{{etym

|etymtx=Grammatical information: n.<br />Meaning: <b class="b2">gain, profit, desire to gain, cunning, wiles</b> (Il.); in plur. also <b class="b2">good advice</b> (Hom.).<br />Compounds: rarely as 1, member, e. g. <b class="b3">κερδο-φόρος</b> <b class="b2">bringing gain</b> (Artem.), as 2. member in <b class="b3">αἰσχρο-κερδής</b> <b class="b2">full lowly desire to gain, greedy</b> (IA).<br />Derivatives: Diminutives <b class="b3">κερδάριον</b>, <b class="b3">κερδύφιον</b> (gloss.); <b class="b3">κερδοσύνη</b> [[ruse]] (Hom., Cleanth. Hymn. 1, 28; Porzig Satzinhalte 226, Wyss <b class="b3">-συνη</b> 27), <b class="b3">κερδώ</b> f. "the cunning", i. e. <b class="b2">the fox</b> (Ar., Babr.); <b class="b3">Κέρδων</b>, <b class="b3">-ωνος</b> PN (D., Argolis; from here Lat. [[cerdō]] <b class="b2">ordinary artisan</b>), also <b class="b3">Κερδέων</b> surn. of Hermes and <b class="b3">Κερδείη Πειθώ</b> (Herod. 7, 74); <b class="b3">Κερδῳ̃ος</b> <b class="b2">bringing gain</b> surn. of Apollon (Thessal., Lyc.; after <b class="b3">Λητῳ̃ος</b>), also of Hermes (Plu., Luc.), also from the fox (Babr.); <b class="b3">κερδητικός</b> [[greedy]] (gloss.). - Further <b class="b3">κερδαλέος</b> [[greedy]] (Il.) and <b class="b3">κερδαίνω</b>, aor. <b class="b3">κερδῆναι</b>, <b class="b3">-δᾶναι</b>, <b class="b3">-δῆσαι</b> <b class="b2">gain, have profit</b> (Pi., IA); hardly from an old \/<b class="b2">n-l</b>\/-stem (Schwyzer 484). - Compar. forms <b class="b3">κερδίων</b> <b class="b2">more profitable</b> (Il.), <b class="b3">κέρδιστος</b> <b class="b2">the most cunnting</b> (Hom.), cf. Seiler Steigerungsformen 84.<br />Origin: IE [Indo-European]X [probably] [579], PGX [probably a word of Pre-Greek origin] <b class="b2">*kerd-</b> [[gain]], [[clever]], [[cunning]]<br />Etymology: The only connections outside Greek are a few Celtic words: OIr. [[cerd]] (IE. <b class="b2">*kerdā</b>) [[art]], [[handwork]], also [[aerarius]], [[figulus]], [[poeta]], Welsh [[cerdd]] [[song]]. - The doubtful H.-glosse <b class="b3">κήρτεα τὰ κέρδη</b> does hardly allow conclusions for the morphology (cf. Schwyzer 512 n. 3). See Bq, and W.-Hofmann s. [[cerdō]]; also E. Lewy FS Dornseiff 226f. Sophie Minon conects (RPh. LXXIV (2000) 271 <b class="b3">κορδύς πανοῦργος</b> H., which is of course not certain (s.v.). Or do <b class="b3">κερδύφιον</b>, <b class="b3">κερδώ</b> point to a Pre-Greek word?

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