I'm studying Plato, but am ungreeked. Does the Ancient Greek name Laches have a known or suspected etymology? My searches have only turned up the modern legal term, related to the Latin word laxo. Thank you.
1 Answer
It seems to come from the root λαχ- lakh- of the verb λαγχάνω lankhanō "obtain by lot, possess by lot".
It's hard to say more precisely what the name would have meant, or why this meaning was thought suitable for a man's name. This is not infrequently the case with Greek names. In this case, Λάχης Lakhēs looks like it might originally have been a hypocoristic "clipping" of some longer compound name beginning Λαχ- Lakh-, such as the rare but attested Λαχέμοιρος Lakhemoiros, which means something like "he who is allotted his portion/share/lot/fate".
(Lachesis, the name of one of the three Fates, is also from this root, which makes sense because the Fates allot destinies to mortals.)
