- σπερμολόγος
- σπερμολόγος, ον (σπέρμα, λέγω, lit. ‘picking up seeds’; of birds, Alex. of Myndos [I A.D.] in Athen. 9, 39 388a; Plut., Demetr. 902 [28, 5]) subst. of a kind of bird, the ‘rook’ (Aristoph.; Aristot.; Lynceus fr. Samos [280 B.C.] in Athen. 8, 32, 344c), in pejorative imagery of persons whose communication lacks sophistication and seems to pick up scraps of information here and there scrapmonger, scavenger (s. Goodsp, Probs. [citing Browning: ‘picker-up of learning’s crumbs’] 132f, and s. the ref. to Eustath. below.—Demosth. 18, 127 σπερμολ. περίτριμμα ἀγορᾶς; Dionys. Hal. 19, 5, 3 [=17, 8]; Eustath. on Od. 5, 490 σπερμολόγοι• οἱ περὶ τὰ ἐμπόρια καὶ ἀγορὰς διατρίβοντες διὰ τὸ ἀναλέγεσθαι τὰ ἐκ τῶν φορτίων ἀπορρέοντα καὶ διὰ ζῆν ἐκ τούτων = σπερμολόγοι are people who spend their time around stores and markets to pick up scraps from the produce and live off them; Philo, Leg. ad Gai. 203) Ac 17:18 (Norden, Agn. Th. 333; Beginn. IV, 211.—WSchmid, Philol. 95, ’42, 82f). Engl. synonyms include ‘gossip’, ‘babbler’, ‘chatterer’; but these terms miss the imagery of unsystematic gathering.—DELG s.v. σπείρω. M-M. Spicq.
Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά παλαιοχριστιανική Λογοτεχνία. 2015.