δράω
Pronunciation
- 5th-century BC Attic: /drǎː.ɔː/[1]
- 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈðra.o/[1]
- 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈðra.o/[1]
Forms
δρᾱ́ω (drā́ō) [1]
Etymology
The origin is uncertain.[2][1] The root was δρᾱ- (drā-) if δραίνω (draínō) is a later formation.[2] The LIV lists a doubtful root Proto-Indo-European *dreh₂- (“to do”) for it.[3] The DGE derives it from *dr-eh₂- and compares Lithuanian daraũ, darýti (“to do, make”) and Latvian darīt (“to do”).[4] Beekes and Frisk call that link quite uncertain, since the Lithuanian verb may rather belong with Sanskrit धर्म (dhárma) and a root meaning “to hold”.[2][5][1] Beekes adds that “to do” in general is a late abstraction, which is why the words for it differ so much from language to language.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
The verb first appears in the Odyssey, where the disguised Odysseus says he would quickly “do” whatever the suitors wanted, which a scholiast took as “serve”.[6][7]
Semantic evolution
It remained rare in Homer, and Attic prose used πράσσω (prā́ssō) and ποιέω (poiéō) for “to do”.[2][5] Aristotle reports the view that it was the Doric verb corresponding to Attic πράττειν, and that “drama” got its name from it.[6] Tragedy uses it often, especially set against πάσχω (páskhō, “to suffer”), as in the old saying “the doer must suffer”.[6][8]
Its derivatives include δρᾶμα (drâma), “action, spectacle, drama”, from Aeschylus on, δραστήριος (drastḗrios) “active” and the servant name δρηστήρ (drēstḗr).[2] Later it could mean to perform sacred rites, and the passive participle τὰ δρώμενα named the rites themselves.[6] The Septuagint and early Christian writers still use it for “do, accomplish”.[9][10]
Timeline
- Homer – The Odyssey has the optative δρώοιμι, “I would do”.[7][6]
- 6th century BC – Theognis uses it for acting, opposed to suffering.[8][4]
- 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus quotes the old saying that the doer must suffer.[6][4]
- 4th century BC – Aristotle notes it as the Doric word for “to do”.[6][4]
- 2nd century AD – Pausanias uses it of performing sacred rites.[6][4]
Meanings
Verb
- To do, perform, accomplish something.[8][6]
- To do something to someone, to treat someone well or badly.[8][6]
- (intransitive) To act, often opposed to suffering.[8][6]
- (participle) The doer, the culprit.[8][6]
- To offer sacrifice or perform rites.[6]
Word family
- δρᾶμα (drâma)
- δρᾶσις (drâsis)
- δραστήριος (drastḗrios)
- δραστικός (drāstikós)
- ἀδρανής (adranḗs)
Related words
- English drama
Usage notes
LSJ records a second δράω, meaning “to see”, in Apollonius Dyscolus and the Etymologicum Magnum.[6] Beekes regards it as a form invented by grammarians to explain ὑπόδρα (hupódra) “looking askance”.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g 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
- ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
- ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
- ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
- ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ 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
- ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft