γάλως

γάλως, -ω

Grammatical information: f.

Meaning: `husband's sister' (Il.)

Other forms: Ep. dat. sg. and nom. pl. γαλόῳ, gen. pl. γαλόων (with metrical diectasis). γάλις γαλαός H. (s. below).

Dialectal forms: Att. (acc. to Hdn. Gr.)

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [367] *ǵlH-ōu-s `husband's sister'

Etymology: The Greek forms derive from *γαλ-αϜ-ο- (not *γαλ-ωϜ-ο-, Beekes, MSS 34, 1976,13ff), thematization of *ǵlh₂-eu-; this is probably an oblique stem from *ǵ(e)lh₂-ōu-s (formation as in πάτρως, μήτρως, s. vv.). Old genealogical term. Acc. to Hermann Gött. Nachr. 1918, 222f. originally the ummarried sister of the husband. Cf. Lat. glōs `husband's sister' (sec. `brother's wife'); the loss of the laryngeal in Latin is difficult, Schrijver 131. Arm. tal `id.' (i-stem; t- for c- after taygr `husbands brother', s. on δαήρ) and Slavic words, e. g. OCS zъlъva, Russ. zólva, zolóvka \< *-uu̯- (from -uh₂- after the feminines in -ūs?). Sanskrit has giri- `sister-in-law' from *ǵlH-i-. Unclear γέλαρος ἀδελφοῦ γυνή, Φρυγιστί H. (for *γέλαϜος? Hermann l.c.). - Oettinger (in Anreiter a.o., Man and the animal world, 1998, 649-654) points out that in Romance languages and dialects often `weasel' and `aunt' are homonyms, because of the behaviour of the aunt; for the same reason the IE terms could have been identical. The nature of the laryngeal is difficult to determine, unless the Hesychius gloss has *γαλαϜ-ος \< *ǵlh₂-eu-os (γάλις could be *ǵlH-i-).

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