μίσγω

Forms

μῐ́σγω (mísgō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *migske-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *miḱ-sḱé-, a present with the suffix *-sḱéti of *mei̯ḱ- (“to mix”).^[2][1] The same present is found in Latin misceō (“to mix”), Old Irish mescaid (“mixes, confuses”) and Welsh cymysgaf, while Germanic and Balto-Slavic have an iterative, as in Old English miscian.^[2] Greek built other presents on the same root, Attic μείγνυμι (meígnumi) among them, and the aorists ἔμειξα (émeixa) and ἐμίγην (emígēn).^[2][3]

A derivation from a Hebrew root meaning “to mix”, proposed in 1885, is rejected: the Greek verb comes regularly from *μιγσκω (*migskō).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is the present that Homer always uses for “to mix”: the Odyssey has it of wine and water mixed in mixing bowls.^[5][6] In the passive Homer uses it far more widely: of warriors who come together in battle or join the front ranks, of guests who meet as friends, and of a man and woman who sleep together.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

Homer and Herodotus always use μίσγω for the present and imperfect, while Attic used μείγνυμι.^[5] Tragedy has it once, in Sophocles, and comedy never, but it occurs at times in Attic prose, in Thucydides and Plato, and in later prose such as Polybius.^[5] Pindar uses it often, in several senses, with the dative.^[5][7] According to LSJ the oldest set of forms was probably μίσγω, μείξω, ἔμειξα, μέμιγμαι and ἐμίχθην.^[5]

The Septuagint has it twice, of wine mixed with water in Isaiah.^[8]

Timeline

• 700s BC – Homer uses it of mixing wine with water, of coming together in battle and of sexual union.^[6][5]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it as the only present for “mix”, Sophocles has it once and Thucydides in compounds.^[5][9]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses the participle μίσγων and the imperfect.^[5][9]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it in prose.^[5][9]

Meanings

Verb

1. To mix, mingle, especially liquids, as wine with water.^[6][5]
2. To mix together in confusion.^[6]
3. To bring together in fight; in the passive, to engage in battle.^[6][5]
4. (passive) To mingle with, join, come among or reach a group or a place.^[6][5]
5. (passive) To associate with, be on friendly terms with.^[6][5]
6. (passive) To have sexual intercourse, often with the phrase “in love” (φιλότητι).^[6][10]

Related words

• μείγνυμι (meígnumi)
• Latin misceō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
3. ^ 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. ^ Rosół, Rafał (2013), Frühe semitische Lehnwörter im Griechischen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: De Gruyter
8. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
10. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli