- ἐλαχύς
- ἐλαχύςGrammatical information: adj.Meaning: `small' (Call. Hek. 3 K.)Other forms: ἐλάχεια hAP 197 (on the accent Wackernagel Gött. Nachr. 1914, 115f. = Kl. Schr. 2, 1172f., Schwyzer 379; ι 116, κ 509 as v. l. to λάχεια; cf. Leumann Hom. Wörter 54; , ἐλαχύ (AP); masc. also ἔλαχος (Call., s. Leumann l. c.);Compounds: As 1. member in ἐλαχυ-πτέρυξ, [ἐλα]χύ-νωτος (Pi.).Derivatives: Comp. ἐλά̄σσων, -ττων (Il.), Sup. ἐλᾰ́χιστος (Ion.-Att.). - From ἐλάσσων, -ττων (Schwyzer 731f.): denomin. ἐλασσόομαι, -ττόομαι `become smaller, be inferior, be damaged' (Ion.-Att.), -όω `diminish, damage' (Lys., Isok.) with ἐλάττωσις `diminution, disadvantage, want, loss' (Antipho Soph., Pl. Def., Arist.) and ἐλαττωτικός `not insisting on his rights, diminishing' (Arist.), ἐλάσσωμα, -ττωμα `id.' (D.). From ἔλασσον-, -ττον- : ἐλαττον-άκις `less often' (Pl., Arist., after πλεον-ακις), ἐλαττον-ότης `be inferior' (Iamb.; beside μειζον-ότης); ἐλασσον-έω, -ττονέω `have or give less, to be defective' (LXX, pap.), ἐλαττον-όω `diminish' (LXX). From ἐλάχιστος : ἐλαχιστ-άκις `very rarely' (Hp.), ἐλαχιστ-ιαῖος `of smallest size, infinitesimal' (Diog. Oen. 2).Origin: IE [Indo-European] [660] *h₁lngʷʰu- `light, quick'Etymology: Old adjective, identical with Skt. laghú-, raghú- `quick, light, small', Av. ragu- `quick'; from an IE zero grade *h₁ln̥gʷʰ-ú-. The full grade h₁lengʷʰ- in Av. comp. rǝnǰyō (with analogical superlativ rǝnǰišta-), in Lith. lẽngvas and in Goth. leihts `leicht', if, as prob., from PGm. *linχta-, IE *h₁lengʷʰ-to-. Toch. B laṅktse `light. Without nasal, with ĕ-vowel Lat. lĕvis `light, small, quick', with reduced vowel OCS lьgъ-kъ `light', with a-vowel Celt., e. g. OIr. comp. laigiu `smaller, worse', PCelt. *lag-i̯ōs (positive bec(c)). These forms cannot be all at once explained. W.-Hofmann s. levis, Fraenkel Lit. et. Wb. s. lẽngvas, Vasmer Russ. et. Wb. s. lëgkij (2, 24). - The vowellength in ἐλά̄σσων is secondary, s. Schwyzer 538 w. n. 4; also Seiler Steigerungsformen 43f.Page in Frisk: 1,484-485
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.