δίδωμι

Forms

δῐ́δωμῐ (dídōmi) ^[1] Mycenaean Greek di-do-si “they give”, Mycenaean Greek do-se “he will give” and the passive participle Mycenaean Greek de-do-me-na.^[2][3] Cypriot optative δώκοι, from an aorist-based present δώκω.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti, the reduplicated present of Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”).^[1][2][4] Apart from the vowel of the reduplication it corresponds to Sanskrit ददाति (dádāti); reduplication with i is also found in Italic, as in Oscan didest (“he will give”).^[2][5] Cognate also with Latin dō and Old Armenian տամ (tam).^[1][5]

The root aorist survives in the middle ἔδοτο (édoto), matching अदित (ádita), and in the verbal adjective δοτός (dotós), like datus.^[2] The active aorist ἔδωκα (édōka), with -κ- after ἔθηκα (éthēka) and ἧκα (hêka), replaced an older root aorist still seen in Sanskrit.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

On the Pylos and Knossos tablets Mycenaean Greek di-do-si records what people pay or contribute, and Mycenaean Greek de-do-me-na what has been handed over.^[3][2] In Homer it means to give a possession, to make an offering to the gods, and of gods to grant glory, victory or evils.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Already in Homer the verb ranges from handing over a thing to the gods' granting of fortune or grief, and, in prayers, to granting that something may happen.^[6][7] Homer and the historians use it of giving a daughter in marriage, and of paying a price or a ransom; the phrase “to give a penalty” means to be punished.^[6]

Classical prose added legal and political senses: to tender an oath, for an official to put a motion to the vote, for the law to grant permission; in argument, Plato uses it for conceding a point.^[6][7] Many compounds were formed with prefixes, such as ἀναδίδωμι (anadídōmi), ἀποδίδωμι (apodídōmi) and διαδίδωμι (diadídōmi).^[2]

Hellenistic Greek simplified the verb to δίδω (dídō), and Medieval Greek remade it on the pattern of verbs like φτύνω (ftýno), giving Modern Greek δίνω (díno), the Modern Greek verb “to give”.^[8][9]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – di-do-si “they give” records payments on the Pylos tablets.^[3][2][5]
• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of giving gifts and offerings, and of the gods granting fortune.^[6][7][10]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of paying a penalty and of giving in marriage.^[6][5]
• 4th century BC – Isaeus and Demosthenes use it of tendering an oath.^[6][7][5]
• 3rd century AD – A papyrus has the simplified present δίδω.^[7]
• Modern Greek – The verb continues as Modern Greek δίνω (díno).^[8][9]

Meanings

Verb

1. To give, hand over a possession; in the present, to offer.^[6][7]
2. To make an offering to the gods.^[6][7]
3. Of gods, to grant or send glory, victory, grief or evils.^[6][7]
4. In prayers, to grant that something may happen.^[6]
5. To give a woman in marriage.^[6]
6. To pay a price or ransom; to pay a penalty, be punished.^[6]
7. To tender an oath.^[6][7]
8. To put a motion to the vote.^[6]
9. Of the law, to permit.^[6]
10. In argument, to concede.^[6]

Word family

• ἀναδίδωμι (anadídōmi)
• ἀντιδίδωμι (antidídōmi)
• ἀντίδοσις (antídosis)
• ἀποδίδωμι (apodídōmi)
• διαδίδωμι (diadídōmi)
• δόσις (dósis)
• ἐκδίδωμι (ekdídōmi)
• ἐνδίδωμι (endídōmi)
• ἐπιδίδωμι (epidídōmi)
• καταδίδωμι (katadídōmi)
• καταπροδίδωμι (kataprodídōmi)
• μεταδίδωμι (metadídōmi)
• παραδίδωμι (paradídōmi)
• προδίδωμι (prodídōmi)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
4. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
5. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
10. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux