What is the etymology of Gylippus? It has to do with horses, but what else?

By: | Post date: 2016-09-28 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Ancient Greek, Linguistics

Γύλιππος (Gýllipos) in Gerhard Köbler’s site is all I get, and all it says is “origin unclear”.

It does indeed look like a compound of gyl– and hippos “horse”. There is no gyl– word in attested Greek. There are the diminutives gyl-arion and gyl-iskos referring to kinds of fish; and there is the noun gylios, referring to a long-shaped satchel (Aristophanes), or to a hedgehog. Aristophanes also has the word gyliauchēngylios-necked”, meaning “long-necked, scraggy-necked”. gyliippos > gylippos could possibly be a “gylios-necked horse”, or someone associated with them.

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