This paper discusses a puzzling Iranism attributed to Deinon of Colophon (4th century BC), the author of three books of Περσικά. The word at issue is included in the so-called Glossary of Oxyrhynchus on a papyrus. The passage in question reads: ‘μενεμανι’ τὸ ὕδωρ παρὰ τοῖς Πέρσαις. [Δ]είνων ἐ[ν … Περσι]κῶν. The scientific literature so far has unsuccessfully tried to explain the etymology of Gr. μενεμανι and has put forward proposals that are utterly fanciful. A simple and intuitive explanation is proposed here. It is a well-known fact that, in addition to the genuinely Iranian traditions of the Zoroastrian menologia transmitted in both Avestan and Pahlavi passages, there existed another ancient calendar, the so-called “Cappadocian calendar”. The most plausible explanation for the lemma μενεμανι is that Deinon reported informations derived from the tradition of the Cappadocian menologium. Behind Gr. μενεμανι lies an Old Persian genitive *apām napāta, properly “(the month) of the nephew of the waters”; the Persian phrase underwent a Greek reinterpretation, wherein the first Iranian morpheme (Old Pers.apām “of the waters”) was erroneously assimilated to the preposition  πό “from”. Consequently, the ghost word μεναμι/μεναμα from  πομεναμα/  πομεναμι that we find in the Cappadocian menologium (roughly reproduced as μενεμανι in the Glossary of Oxyrhynchus) ended up being lemmatized as the entry for “water”: ‘μενεμανι’ τὸ ὕδωρ παρὰ τοῖς Πέρσαις.

The etymology of old Persian μενεμανι / Mancini, Marco. - In: RIVISTA DEGLI STUDI ORIENTALI. - ISSN 0392-4866. - 97:4(2024), pp. 167-175.

The etymology of old Persian μενεμανι

Marco Mancini
2024

Abstract

This paper discusses a puzzling Iranism attributed to Deinon of Colophon (4th century BC), the author of three books of Περσικά. The word at issue is included in the so-called Glossary of Oxyrhynchus on a papyrus. The passage in question reads: ‘μενεμανι’ τὸ ὕδωρ παρὰ τοῖς Πέρσαις. [Δ]είνων ἐ[ν … Περσι]κῶν. The scientific literature so far has unsuccessfully tried to explain the etymology of Gr. μενεμανι and has put forward proposals that are utterly fanciful. A simple and intuitive explanation is proposed here. It is a well-known fact that, in addition to the genuinely Iranian traditions of the Zoroastrian menologia transmitted in both Avestan and Pahlavi passages, there existed another ancient calendar, the so-called “Cappadocian calendar”. The most plausible explanation for the lemma μενεμανι is that Deinon reported informations derived from the tradition of the Cappadocian menologium. Behind Gr. μενεμανι lies an Old Persian genitive *apām napāta, properly “(the month) of the nephew of the waters”; the Persian phrase underwent a Greek reinterpretation, wherein the first Iranian morpheme (Old Pers.apām “of the waters”) was erroneously assimilated to the preposition  πό “from”. Consequently, the ghost word μεναμι/μεναμα from  πομεναμα/  πομεναμι that we find in the Cappadocian menologium (roughly reproduced as μενεμανι in the Glossary of Oxyrhynchus) ended up being lemmatized as the entry for “water”: ‘μενεμανι’ τὸ ὕδωρ παρὰ τοῖς Πέρσαις.
2024
persian loanwords; cappadocian calendar; deinon of colophon; ancient Greek; oxyrhyncus papyri
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The etymology of old Persian μενεμανι / Mancini, Marco. - In: RIVISTA DEGLI STUDI ORIENTALI. - ISSN 0392-4866. - 97:4(2024), pp. 167-175.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1729890
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