HEMI´NA
HEMI´NA (
ἡμίνα or
ἡμῖνα), the name of
[p. 1.942]Greek and Roman measure, the half of the standard measure of
capacity, the
ξέστης, and therefore
equivalent to
κοτύλη. The word is
originally Sicilian; see the quotations from Epicharmus and Sophron, ap.
Ath. xi. p. 479 a, b, xiv. p. 648 d; in the latter passage one of the
speakers declares that it is not good Greek. It is obviously connected with
ἥμισυς (
Hesych.
sub voce), and some have thought that it was merely a dialectic
form; it may, however, have been softened from
ἡμίμνα,
“half a pound.” The long penultima favours this derivation; and
the saying “a pint is a pound” is approximately true of ancient
as well as modern measures. The
ἡμίνα
passed into the Roman metrical system, where it is used with exactly the
same force; namely, for a measure which is half the
SEXTARIUS and equal to the
Greek COTYLE (Plaut.
Mil. Glor.
3.2, 18; pers.
Sat. 1.130; Auct.
Carm.
de Pond. 67, 68). It is sometimes found as a dry measure (
Plin. Nat. 18.9; Cels. 4.10 and 15). (Cf.
Boeckh,
Metrol. Untersuch. pp. 17, 200, 203; Hultsch,
Metrol. p. 91 ff.)
[
P.S] [
W.W]
