μάχομαι

Forms

μάχομαι (mákhomai) ^[1]

Etymology

Beekes thinks that, as an isolated root, it may well be Pre-Greek, since in the domain of fighting old inherited words are hardly to be expected.^[2][3] Traditionally it has been traced to Proto-Indo-European *maǵʰ- (“to fight”), and Old Armenian մաքառիմ (makʻaṙim, “to combat”) may continue the same root.^[1][4]

The connection with a supposed Iranian word for “warrior” behind Ἀμαζών (Amazṓn) is ingenious but very uncertain.^[2][3] Inside Greek a link with μάχαιρα (mákhaira, “knife”) and with μῆχαρ (mêkhar) and μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “device”) is formally possible, but Chantraine calls it improbable.^[2]

Beekes and Frisk see in the imperfect ἐμαχόμην (emakhómēn) an old aorist, from which the present was made: the aorist is remarkably rare in Homer.^[2][3] A new aorist μαχέσασθαι (makhésasthai) then took its place, and the Attic future μαχοῦμαι (makhoûmai) was formed from it.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is very common from the Iliad on, where it means to fight in battle and also, with ἔριδι (éris), to quarrel.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Homer already uses it both for fighting with weapons and for wrangling with words, and for contending in games such as boxing.^[5][7] After Homer it is used for struggling against a force: Simonides says that not even the gods fight against necessity.^[5] In Plato and later philosophical prose propositions “fight” when they contradict each other.^[5]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament it means both to fight and to quarrel or dispute; used absolutely, it means to be quarrelsome.^[8][9] Medieval Greek kept the verb, and Modern Greek μάχομαι (máchomai) is used as a learned word.^[10][11]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for fighting in battle and for quarrelling.^[5][7]
• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus uses it for struggling against the rain.^[5][12]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of propositions that contradict each other.^[5][12]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for physical fights and for quarrels.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The verb survives as a learned word.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To fight, do battle, with or against someone.^[5][7]
2. To quarrel, wrangle, dispute.^[5][9]
3. To contend in games, such as boxing or the pancratium.^[5]
4. To struggle against a force or a feeling.^[5]
5. Of propositions, to contradict each other, be inconsistent.^[5]

Word family

• ἀμφιμάχομαι (amphimákhomai)
• ἀναμάχομαι (anamákhomai)
• ἀντιμάχομαι (antimákhomai)
• ἀπομάχομαι (apomákhomai)
• διαμάχομαι (diamákhomai)
• ἐμμάχομαι (emmákhomai)
• καταμάχομαι (katamákhomai)
• περιμάχομαι (perimákhomai)
• προμάχομαι (promákhomai)
• προσμάχομαι (prosmákhomai)
• συμμάχομαι (summákhomai)
• ὑπερμάχομαι (hupermákhomai)

Related words

• μάχη (mákhē)
• μαχήμων (makhḗmōn)
• μάχηνδε (mákhēnde)
• μαχητής (makhētḗs)
• μαχητικός (makhētikós)
• μαχητός (makhētós)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
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. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
11. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
12. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge