The anatomical use of the term ταῦρος according to lexicographers: a non-existent metaphor?
Keywords:
ταῦρος, lexicography, conceptual metaphor, body parts, ἀταύρωτοςAbstract
This study examines the alleged anatomical meaning of the term ταῦρος in reference to the perineum and male and female genitalia and aims to demonstrate the absence of evidence for this usage beyond the definitions provided by ancient lexicographers.
Firstly, the paper highlights the lack of consensus among lexicographers regarding the anatomical scope of this term; furthermore, it also analyses its potential semantic development through the lens of cognitive metaphor within the context of the Greek lexicon for genitalia. Secondly, by exploring the possible anatomical uses of ταῦρος in comedies, along with its derivative adjective ἀταύρωτος, the study will assess whether a metaphorical use truly ever existed. Eventually, the conclusion focuses on the fact that the anatomical use of ταῦρος is a “non-existent” metaphor—an assumption created by lexicographers to explain the adjective ἀταύρωτος, which was later interpreted in different ways.
Downloads
References
BARCELONA, Antonio (2012), “La metonimia conceptual”, en Iraide IBARRETXE-ANTUÑANO y Javier VALENZUELA (eds.), Lingüística cognitiva, Barcelona, Anthropos, 123-146.
BEEKES, Robert (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Leiden, Brill.
BLANK, Andreas (1997), Prinzipien des lexikalischen Bedeutungswandels am Beispiel der romanischen Sprachen, Tübingen, Max Niemeyer Verlag. DOI: 10.1515/9783110931600
COULON, Victor y Hilaire VAN DAELE (1967), Aristophane. Tome III. Les Oiseaux – Lysistrata, París, Les Belles Lettres.
GIBBS, Raymond (2008), The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought, Cambridge, Cam-bridge University Press.
GRADY, Joseph (1999), “A typology of motivation for conceptual metaphor”, en Raymond GIBBS y Gerard STEEN (eds.), Metaphor in Cognitive Linguistics, Amsterdam, John Benjamins, 79-100. DOI: 10.1075/cilt.175.06gra
HENDERSON, Jeffrey (1987), Aristophanes Lysistrata, Oxford, Clarendon Press. DOI: 10.1093/actrade/9780198144960.book.1
HENDERSON, Jeffrey (1991), The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy (2a ed.), Oxford, Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780195066845.001.0001
HENDERSON, Jeffrey (2000), Aristophanes. Birds. Lysistrata. Women at the Thesmophoria, Cam-bridge (MA), Harvard University Press. DOI: DLCL.aristophanes-women_thesmophoria.2000
KAJAVA, Mika (1999), “Ἄρκτος, ἀρκτεύω and the like”, Arctos 33, 15-65.
KÖVECSES, Zoltán (2002), Metaphor. A Practical Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780195145113.001.0001
KÖVECSES, Zoltán y Günter RADDEN (1998), “Metonymy: developing a cognitive linguistic view”, Cognitive Linguistics 9(1), 37-77. DOI: 10.1515/cogl.1998.9.1.37
LAKOFF, George (1993), “The contemporary theory of metaphor”, en Andrew ORTONY (ed.), Met-aphor and Thought (2a ed.), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 202-251. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139173865.013
LAKOFF, George y Mark JOHNSON (1986 [1980]) Metáforas de la vida cotidiana, Madrid, Cátedra (Traducción de Metaphors we Live By, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1980).
LSJ = LIDDELL, Henry G., Robert SCOTT y Henry S. JONES (1977), A Greek-English Lexicon (9ª ed.), Oxford, Oxford University Press.
MAXWELL-STUART, Peter G. (1972), “Strato and the Musa Puerilis”, Hermes 100/2, 215-240.
PEIRSMAN, Yves y Dirk GEERAERTS (2006), “Metonymy as a prototypical category”, Cognitive Linguistics 17/3, 269-316. DOI: 10.1515/COG.2006.007
PERUSINO, Franca y Simone BETA (2022), Aristofane. Lisistrata, Milán, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla Mondadori.
SEGAL, Charles (1982), “Etymologies and double meanings in Euripides’ Bacchae”, Glotta 60/1, 81-93.
SKODA, Françoise (1988), Médicine ancienne et métaphore. Le vocabulaire de l’anatomie et de la pathologie en grec ancien, París, Peeters.
SOMMERSTEIN, Alan H. (2009), “The anatomy of euphemism in Aristophanic comedy”, en Alan H. SOMMERSTEIN, Talking about Laughter and Other Studies in Greek Comedy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 70-103. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554195.003.0004
SORIANO, Cristina (2012), “La metáfora conceptual”, en Iraide IBARRETXE-ANTUÑANO y Javier VALENZUELA (eds.), Lingüística cognitiva, Barcelona, Anthropos, 97-121.
TAILLARDAT, Jean (1965), Les images d’Aristophane. Études de langue et de style (2ª ed.), París, Les Belles Lettres.
TLG = PANTELIA, Maria C. (ed.), Thesaurus Linguae Graecae® Digital Library, Irvine, Universi-ty of California. URL: http://www.tlg.uci.edu (último acceso 09/11/2024)
VÍLCHEZ DÍAZ, Mercedes y Francisco RODRÍGUEZ ADRADOS (2006), Esquilo. Tragedias, III. Aga-menón, Madrid, CSIC.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Iván Andrés-Alba
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The articles published at Minerva. Revista de Filología Clásica will have a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The journal allows the authors to retain publishing rights. Authors may reprint their articles in other media without having to request authorization, provided they indicate that the article was originally published in Minerva. Revista de Filología Clásica.