Zum lesbischen Wort für Stein – ψᾶφαξ (Gregor von Korinth Περὶ Αἰολ. 66) oder ψᾶφιγξ?

Abstract

The paper addresses two primary questions: first, what constitutes a specifically dialectal lexical element, particularly in cases of secondary attestation, and second, how to interpret ancient grammatical sources on ancient Greek dialects. To tackle these challenging yet crucial questions for Greek dialectology, the paper examines a section of Gregory of Corinth’s treatise on the Aeolic dialect, focusing on an example provided by the Byzantine grammarian and bishop. The chosen example involves the lexeme ψᾶφαξ, purported to mean ‘pebble’ and considered equivalent to the Attic ψῆφος. By rejecting the authenticity of this gloss, identified as a ghost word, the paper conducts a thorough analysis of the lexemes ψᾶφιξ and ψᾶφιγξ as found in grammatical literature, comparing their use with that found in Lesbian epigraphic sources. This analysis is framed within both a Greek and a broader Indo-European perspective. Furthermore, the paper argues that the form ψαφιγξ can be considered a genuine dialectal special form, implicitly suggesting that forms presented by grammarians as dialectal require rigorous scrutiny before being accepted as authentic.