αἰτέω

Forms

αἰτέω (aitéō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is a denominative verb, from Ancient Greek *αἶτος (*aîtos) + -έω (-éō), from an unattested noun “share, portion”, also seen in ἔξαιτος (éxaitos).^[2][3][1] That noun belongs with αἴνυμαι (aínumai, “to take”), αἶσα (aîsa, “share, lot”) and αἴτιος (aítios, “responsible”).^[2][4][3] Wiktionary traces the root to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- (“to give, take”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is used of asking for horses, and in Homer it is used both of asking for a thing and of asking a person.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

From Homer on it was used of begging alms, of asking someone to do something, and of asking for a woman in marriage.^[5][8] The middle, said to mean “to ask for oneself”, appears from Herodotus and Aeschylus on and is often hardly different from the active.^[6][9] In Aristotle's logic it meant “to postulate, assume”.^[6]

In the New Testament the active and middle are used alike, and the ancient grammarians' distinction between them holds only partly.^[9] Modern Greek uses the learned αιτούμαι (etoúme, “to request”), and Modern Greek αίτηση (aítisi, “application”) from αἴτησις (aítēsis) took its modern sense of a formal petition from French pétition.^[10]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of asking for horses.^[6][5]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it of begging.^[7][3]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Aeschylus use the middle.^[6][3]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it in logic, of postulating.^[6][3]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it of asking for a fish and of asking for the body of Jesus.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The learned Modern Greek αιτούμαι (etoúme) continues the middle.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To ask, beg, plead; to ask for alms.^[6][8]
2. To ask for, demand something, often with a second accusative of the person asked.^[6][8]
3. To ask someone to do something.^[6][8]
4. To ask for a woman in marriage.^[8]
5. (logic) To postulate, assume.^[6]
6. (middle) To ask for oneself, claim; to borrow.^[6][8]

Word family

• αἴτημα (aítēma)
• αἴτησις (aítēsis)
• αἰτητικός (aitētikós)
• αἰτητός (aitētós)
• αἰτίζω (aitízō)
• ἀπαιτέω (apaitéō)
• ἐξαιτέω (exaitéō)
• ἐπαιτέω (epaitéō)
• παραιτέομαι (paraitéomai)

Related words

• αἴνυμαι (aínumai)
• αἶσα (aîsa)
• αἴτιος (aítios)
• Modern Greek αιτούμαι (etoúme)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
4. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki