Greek λαιός ‘Left’, Glosses (λαι)λαί and the Name of Λάϊος: A Study in Proto-Indo-European Morphology, Semantics and Reconstruction

This paper examines Greek λαιός ‘left’, focusing on its association with Laius and Indo-European cognates. It proposes a broader Proto-Indo-European etymology grounded in linguistic anthropology and comparative linguistics, suggesting that the word “left” within a cultural taboo of the concepts of [LEFT], [MASCULINITY] and [SEXUALITY]. The imperfect phonological correspondences are explained through linguistic interdiction. Greek λαιός is analyzed as a delocatival compound in comparable to PIE “right”-words and some Old Comedy glosses concerning male homosexual acts and references to “left” in myth, notably in Laius’s character. The name Λάϊος can formally derive from the “left” reconstruction here proposed and, cultural wise, it aligns the behaviors and acts of the character, who is the originator of male homosexual intercourse after kidnapping Chrysippus. Overall, the analysis proposes a reconceptualization of λαιός, reconstructing a hysterodynamic sstem, broadening understanding of PIE root semantics related to taboo concepts.