κοέω

Forms

κοέω (koéō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kowéjō,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kowh₁éyeti, a causative or iterative verb of the root *(s)kewh₁- (“to perceive, pay attention”).^[1][2] Beekes, Chantraine and Frisk agree that κο(ϝ)έω is the same formation as Latin caveō (“to beware”), which goes back to an older *coveō.^[3][4][5] A zero-grade primary verb from the same root is Sanskrit आकुवते (ā-kúvate, “to have in view”),^[3][4] and a noun कवि (kaví, “seer, poet, wise man”).^[5][4]

Names in -κόων (-kóōn) such as Λαοκόων (Laokóōn) and the Mycenaean nouns in -kowo, among them Mycenaean Greek e-pi-ko-wo “watchmen”, belong to the same stem.^[5][4][6] A by-form with initial s- appears in θυοσκόος (thuoskóos) and in West Germanic verbs meaning “to look at”.^[3][4] Chantraine and Frisk also connect ἀκούω (akoúō), whose meaning narrowed to “hear”.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a rare old word for “to notice, perceive, hear”.^[4] The earliest dated use is in Anacreon (6th century BC), in the phrase “but you do not notice”;^[7][8][9] Epicharmus also has it, in a contracted form.^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

It stayed rare: Callimachus (4th–3rd century BC) used its aorist, “she perceived that…”, and the grammarian Helladius (4th century AD), quoted by Photius, still knew it.^[7][8][9]

Hesychius records forms with a stem in -άω, glossed “hears, learns”, “to perceive” and “we heard”, the last with a Doric ending.^[4][3][10]

Timeline

• 6th century BC – Anacreon uses κοέω for “to notice”.^[7][9]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Callimachus uses the aorist with a clause, “she perceived that”.^[7][8][9]
• 4th century AD – The grammarian Helladius uses the infinitive.^[7][9]

Meanings

Verb

1. To notice, perceive, hear.^[7][8]
2. To recognize that something is the case (with a clause).^[8]

Related words

• ἀκούω (akoúō)
• θυοσκόος (thuoskóos)
• κῦδος (kûdos)
• Latin caveō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
3. ^ a b c d 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
5. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
7. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
10. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)