EVA words dain.os.teody of f1r

The three words in the « title » on line 10 of page 1r, dain.os.teody, are already on my « Word List » and it’s time to try to put them together.

Nearly ten years ago I tried to read these words as Θεω ων Βοιωτóς – Theo of Boeotia; today I try another approach: τειν ὅς βίοτος – to you this life (this world) or this life (this world) is yours.

EVA words chotain and chotaiin

In the text of the manuscript there are about 174 occurrences of words starting with EVA chot-. I have found more than thirty forms of these words, I don’t know if they are all related.

In this post I will look at just two that seem the simplest.

The words chotain and chotaiin can be read as kobain and kobaun for κοβειν and κοβων.

Although these words apparently don’t occurs in ancient Greek, there is the root κοϝ- -observe, watch, and based on this root the verb κοαω/κοεω/κοω – mark, perceive, hear with the infinitive κοειν and the present participle masc κοων.

This example confirms, in my opinion, that the reading of the EVA t glyph is perhaps more complex than that of the others.

EVA word pchdoiin

The first word on page 104v, pchdoiin, is unique in the text. Reading it as ph8oun, I get the word φτουν, which is not found in the dictionary. However I found it in Michaēl S. Lelekos Δημοτικη Ἀνθολογια, 1868: « Και φτουν τα λιανοτούφεκα σαν άμμος της θαλάσσης ».

It is, in fact, the word πέφτουν of πέφτω – to fall, a verb from Modern Greek, but also from Byzantine Greek, corresponding to πίπτω of Ancient Greek.

For the moment I will keep this meaning for pchdoiin – ph8oun – φτουν – (they) fall.

EVA word ololchey

The word ololchey is unique in the text. I had proposed, more than five years ago, to read it as the Greek word for hare, ο λαγως.

Reading the text again today, I have to admit that this word is very complex, because the combinations of the letters that make it up can probably be read in different ways.

Firstly, the combination ol can be read as ol, but also as a or oi.
The combination ch can transcribe the consonants g, k, and x, and perhaps the vowels ei and eta.
In summary, this is not a good word to practise reading voynechese.

Still, I found the word ααγεις – pl nom/acc of the masc/fem adjective ααγης – unbroken, hard.

EVA words olkor and olkory

The EVA words olkor (4) and olkory (1) can be read as anor and anor9.

The word ανορ exists in the dictionary as the scythian word for νους/νοος – mind.

The word olkory/anor9 may or may not be related to ανορ.

Looking at this word in the manuscript, I observe that the horizontal bar of the EVA letter k is high enough to consider reading this letter as m.

In this case the word olkory can be αμορος = αμοιρος – without lot or share in thing, bereft of some good; portionless; exempt from fate; unlucky, wretched.

The first two words of 79v « poldshedy.olkory » would be « πα 8ski89 αμορος » – « how deprived of 8ski89… »?

EVA words poleedaran.shckhy

The words poleedaran.shckhy start line 44 on page 76r and I had already tried to understand them two years ago.

At that time I read some EVA e glyphs as s/c, currently I try to keep only the value of the vowels e or i.

In this case the word poleedaran could be read as polie8aran for πολυ-εταραν, for example, which immediately brings to mind πολυ-εταιρος – with many fellows or comrades.

The ending -αν suggests a feminine term, most likely εταραν, pl gen of epic, doric or aeolic form of εταιρος – εταρη – companion or courtesan.

The next word, shckhy, which I read as skene9, may well be σκηνεος, gen sg of σκηνος – tent, booth, (dead) body, corpse.

I also assume that σκηνη/σκηνος, as a tent, also means sanctuary and in that case « πολυ-εταραν σκηνεος » would be « of the sanctuary to the many nuns (sacred courtesans) ».

Words EVA shokain.chy

The EVA word shokain is unique in the text, it is found on page 75r and is followed by the word chy.

The ending -ain tells us that it is most likely a verb. I have not found a verb starting with σκο- or σχο-, only σκανειν, infinitive of σκαναω= σκανεω = σκηνοποιεω – make a tent or booth, form a canopy, make oneself a tent or booth; to settle somewhere

The next word, chy, could be γη – earth, land, country.

Would the two words together be « to settle in the land »?

In this case, it would, perhaps, be better to read chy as γας, accusative plural of γα, Dorian and Aeolian equivalent of γη: σκανειν γας – to settle in the lands ?

EVA words qokain.chckhy

The words qokain (279) and chckhy (140) occur together 5 times on pages 75r, 76r and 77r.

I read the word qokain as the verb δονειν, the infinitive of δονεω and the word chckhy as the adjective κενεος, a Doric and Aeolian form of κενος.

The verb δονεω has several meanings: to shake, to disturb, to terrify, to agitate, to wheel, to murmur.

The word κενεος/κενος means empty, fruitless, void, devoid of wit, vain, pretentious.

My concern today is to understand how we should translate an infinitive, as the infinitive or as the noun?

Are we to understand « in order to disturb (those) devoid of wit » or « a vain agitation » or perhaps « a fruitless murmur »?

The murmur on these particular pages could be the murmur of the sacred tree of the oracle of Dodona

EVA words saraisl.aiin

The EVA word saraisl of 105r is unique and if we read it together with the following one, it would give saraislaun. Reading the final l as i, the closest word would be σαρησιων. In the dictionary there is the word σαρησιον, which means – a garment. Can σαρησιων be genitive plural of σαρησιον?

Word EVA iirchal

The EVA word iirchal on page 115v, which I read as urkai, may well be the word υργαι which Hesychius explained as « επιθεματα προς κουφισμον των φορτιων » and which the LSJ dictionary has left untranslated.

I will try to translate it word by word:

• επιθεματα, pl of επιθεμα = επιθημα – cover, remedy for external application;
• προς – from, at, to;
• κουφισμον, masc acc of κουφισμος = κουφισις -remission of taxation, Medic., alleviation ;
• των φορτιων, pl neut gen of φορτιον – load, burden, freight, pl., wares, merchandise, of a child in the womb.

The whole would be « remedies for external application for the alleviation of children in the womb »?

This word confirms that reading EVA l as i, at the end of words is a good choice.