Idor
Idor grece aqua inde ydropisis et alia sed quia melius per .y. scribitur infra queratur.
Apparatus:
ydropisis ABC e | Idorpiscis f
{per} .y ABC e | {per} I ms. f
Translation:
Idor is Greek for Latin aqua {"water"}, with which ydropisis {"dropsy"} and other words are compounded, but because it is better to write it with 'y' it should be looked up further down {i.e. entry: Ydro}.
Commentary:
Greek ὕδωρ /hýdōr/ "water" is portrayed by Simon in its medieval Greek pronunciation with loss of /h/ and υ > ι {/y/ > /i/}, resulting in /ídor/.
Hydropisis "the dropsy" is a form of the word known from Pliny [Loeb], vol. VI, book XX, p. 26, § 43, where he speaks of incipientes hydropises "incipient dropsy", using a plural form. The Greek word is ὕδρωψ /hýdrōps/.
Simon's opinion that the word is better written with the letter 'y' shows his etymologising attitude towards the transliteration and transcription of Greek, a view that was newly reinforced during the Renaissance and has indeed prevailed ever since and is rigorously insisted upon even to this day in many modern European orthographies.
Wilf Gunther 29/11/13
See also: Ydro
