αὔξω

Pronunciation

• 5th-century BC Attic: /ǎu̯k.sɔː/^[1]
• 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈaɸk.so/^[1]
• 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈafk.so/^[1]

Forms

αὔξω (aúxō) ^[1] Homeric ἀέξω (aéxō).^[2] Ionic and Attic usually have the nasal present αὐξάνω (auxánō).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ugs-, the zero grade of *h₂weg-s- (“to grow”), whose -s- was probably a present suffix; the Homeric ἀέξω (aéxō) has the full grade.^[5][2][1] Forms with the -s- are found in Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wahsjan, “to grow”), Tocharian B auks- (“to grow”) and Avestan uxšiieitī (“grows”); the root without it in Latin augeō (“to increase”), 𐌰𐌿𐌺𐌰𐌽 (aukan, “to increase”), Lithuanian áugti (“to grow”) and Sanskrit उग्र (ugrá-, “big, strong”), and an s-stem in ओजस् (ójas-, “strength”) and augustus (“venerable”).^[2][5] Beekes compares the pair ἀλκή (alkḗ) and ἀλέξω (aléxō), where the place of the full grade also shifted.^[2]

The nasal present αὐξάνω (auxánō) is built on the same root.^[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Hesiod's Theogony has the passive, “to grow”.^[3][6] Homer uses the older form ἀέξω.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Theognis and Pindar use αὔξω, Pindar of a soldier who increases his people's glory and, in the phrase “to increase the burnt offerings”, of sacrificing.^[3][4] In prose the nasal αὐξάνω became usual, and LSJ treats both under that form.^[3][2]

The verb means to make grow, of children, animals and plants, and to increase in size, number or strength: Herodotus uses it of increasing the power of the Greeks, Sophocles of making a city great by its laws.^[3][4] The passive means to grow, wax, and Aristotle and later writers also use the active intransitively, of the waxing moon; the New Testament uses it of a growing people.^[3][4] In logic it was a technical term, and “the growing argument” was the name of a fallacy.^[3] The grammarians said that a verb “increases” when it takes the augment.^[3]

Its derivatives include αὔξησις (aúxēsis, “growth, increase”) and αὔξη (aúxē, “growth”).^[2] Modern Greek αυξάνω (afxáno, “to increase”) is a learned borrowing of αὐξάνω.^[7]

Timeline

• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony uses the passive for growing up.^[3][6][5]
• 6th century BC – Theognis uses αὔξω.^[3][5]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses αὐξάνω of increasing the power of the Greeks.^[3][5]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses the active intransitively, of the waxing moon.^[3][5]
• New Testament – αὐξάνω is used of growing children and a growing people.^[4]
• Modern Greek – αυξάνω is a learned word, “to increase”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make grow, increase; to rear children or animals, to grow plants.^[3][4]
2. To strengthen, magnify; to exalt, of power or glory.^[3][4]
3. (passive and middle; later also active) To grow, increase, wax.^[3][4]
4. (grammar) Of verbs, to take the augment.^[3]

Word family

• αὐξάνω (auxánō)
• αὔξησις (aúxēsis)
• αὔξημα (aúxēma)
• αὔξη (aúxē)

Related words

• ἀέξω (aéxō)
• Latin augeō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki