COMPOUND: Εὔμαιος, -ου
CATEGORIZATION: N [Adv+V+Suf]
MEANING: ‘Eumaeus’
ETYMOLOGY: εὖ ‘good, well’ + verbal root μαι- (μαίομαι < *μάσyομαι) ‘touch, investigate, search, seek to attain’ + noun suf. -ος, -ου
OCCURRENCE: Od. XIV, 55, 165, 360, 440, 442, 462, 507; XV, 307, 325, 341, 381, 486; XVI, 7, 8, 60, 69, 135, 156, 461, 464; XVII, 199, 264, 272, 305, 306, 311, 380, 508, 512, 543, 561, 576, 579; XX, 169, 238; XXI, 80, 203, 234; XXII, 157, 194, 279
CASE/GENDER/NUMBER: nom. m. sg., acc. sg., voc. sg.
HEADEDNESS: exocentric
CLASSIFICATION: determinative – karmadhāraya
NOTES: according to Chantraine (s.v. μαίομαι) the link between Εὔμαιος and μαίομαι is not evident. New etymological proposal by Demont (see CEG): Εὔμαιος = εὖ ‘good, well’ + *μαῖος ‘foster father’ (cf. μαῖα ‘foster mother’).