The etymologies seem unrelated, but I’m struck by the similar sounds.
And they have similar meanings too. But no, it’s just coincidence that both words begin with so-. sobrius is evidently related to ebrius (drunk, cf. inebriated), while σώφρων is formed on σῶς (safe) and φρήν (mind), cf. e.g. ἄφρων (mindless), εὔφρων (well-minded), δύσφρων (ill-minded), παράφρων (mentally deranged), ὁμόφρων (like-minded), ἔκφρων (out of one’s mind), ἔμφρων, πολύφρων, etc.—all very productive morphemes!
νήφων though (sober), may go back to the same PIE root as ebrius, so says wiktionary.
Thanks, guys. Yeah, the similar meaning is what first led me wonder about the similar sounds, but I recognized that the also similar sounding ‘br’ and ‘φρ’ came about through differing etymological roots.
Nonetheless, it’s fun to play with words, especially when you have multiple languages to play around with.
Back again!
Is there a term for such words that sound similar but are etymologically dissimilar, another favorite example, this time within the same language, being prodigus et prodigium?
Not merely homophones, but more specifically homophones (or homoiophones) with unrelated etymologies? Or maybe most all homophones are etymologically distinct, and thus no special term was ever devised?