Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Feb. 18

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 144. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

αἰδέομαι ~ αἰδέσομαι ~ ᾐδεσάμην: be in awe, respect 

ἐξαμαρτάνω ~ ἐξαμαρτήσομαι ~ ἐξήμαρτον: make a mistake 

ὑπέχω ~ ὑφέξω ~ ὑπέσχον: support, supply, undergo 

φθέγγομαι ~ φθέγξομαι ~ ἐφθεγξάμην: utter a sound, speak 

λούω ~ λούσω ~ ἔλουσα: wash, bathe 

These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):

Ἱκέτας αἰδοῦ.

Σοφῷ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν ἐξαμαρτάνειν.

Δίκην ὑφέξει κἂν ὄνος δάκῃ κύνα.

Ἐν ἀμούσοις καὶ κόρυδος φθέγγεται.

Ὗς λουσαμένη εἰς κυλισμὸν βορβόρου.

And now, some commentary:

Ἱκέτας αἰδοῦ.

Respect suppliants.

This is one of the so-called sayings recorded by Stobaeus; more information at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. These maxims are a great way to practice imperatives, especially those sneaky middle imperatives: αἰδοῦ, from the deponent verb αἰδέομαι, which takes a direct object: ἱκέτας, from the noun ἱκέτης.

Σοφῷ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν ἐξαμαρτάνειν.

It is a shameful thing for a wise man to commit an error.

The idea is that the "wise" person is being held to a higher standard; being wise should help you keep from making mistakes. The words are spoken by the chorus in Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound.

Δίκην ὑφέξει κἂν ὄνος δάκῃ κύνα.

He'll bring a lawsuit even if a donkey bites a dog.

This saying makes fun of someone who will make a legal case over something that's a trivial, everyday occurrence. The word κἂν is a compound: καί - ἄν, with καί being used adverbially here: "even if."

Ἐν ἀμούσοις καὶ κόρυδος φθέγγεται.

Among the uncultured, even a lark can sing.

The implication here is that people with refined taste would prefer the song of the nightingale, but for those who will settle for anything, the song of a common lark is good enough. Apparently the lark has a nice enough song, but it also utters some buzzing sounds, although I guess I must be un-mused, as I like the song of the lark. The word ἄμουσος is an alpha-privative compound: ἄ-μουσος, being without the Muses, uncultured.

Ὗς λουσαμένη εἰς κυλισμὸν βορβόρου.

The pig, having been washed, goes to roll in the mud.

The idea here is that nature will out: you can clean up a pig, but it will still go right back into the mud. This saying comes from the Biblical letter of 2 Peter, where it is labeled a proverb, παροιμία. Here is a ancient Greek terracotta pig:

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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