Etymologically
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οἴομαι

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Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /ǒi̯.o.mai̯/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈy.o.mɛ/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈy.o.me/[1]

Forms

οἴομαι (oíomai) [1] Epic ὀΐομαι (oḯomai) and active ὀΐω (oḯō).[2] Contracted οἶμαι (oîmai), Laconian οἰῶ (oiô).[2][3]

Etymology

The original forms are ὀΐομαι (oḯomai) and ὀΐω (oḯō), from which the later forms developed; οἶμαι (oîmai) and the imperfect ᾤμην (ṓimēn) arose where the verb was unstressed.[3][1] The oldest forms point to *owis-i̯e/o-, supported by the aorist ὀϊσθῆναι (oïsthênai) and the adjective ἀνώιστος (anṓistos, “unexpected”).[3]

The further etymology is unclear.[3] Beekes once assumed a root Proto-Indo-European *h₃wis-, and the comparison with Latin ōmen (“portent”) (Old Latin osmen) is doubtful.[3] He now prefers to derive it from Proto-Indo-European *h₂owis, an adverb matching Sanskrit आविस् (āvís, “evidently, before the eyes”), with the verbal suffix *-ye/o-.[3] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“to perceive”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, in the epic forms ὀΐω (oḯō) and ὀΐομαι (oḯomai), meaning “to think, suppose” and also “to forebode, fear”; in the Iliad the mind is often fixed on something, such as death.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

In Homer it is used parenthetically, “I think”, and impersonally in the Odyssey for a foreboding that comes into one's heart.[4][2] Tragedy chiefly uses the short form οἶμαι (oîmai), while οἴομαι is frequent in prose.[4] In Attic it became a common word for supposing and concluding.[2] Short οἶμαι served as a modest “I think so”, and the question “can you imagine?” (πῶς οἴει) expressed astonishment.[2] Plato and Aristotle set it against knowing, as having an opinion.[2] From it come οἴησις (oíēsis, “opinion, conceit”) (Ionic-Attic) and οἴημα (oíēma) (Plutarch).[3]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses ὀΐω (oḯō) for “I think”.[4][5]
  • 5th century BC – Aeschylus and the other tragedians use the short form οἶμαι (oîmai).[4][6]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Plato contrasts it with knowing.[2][6]
  • 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses the derivative οἴημα (oíēma) for conceit.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To think only of, be fixed on something, such as death or grief.[2]
  2. To forebode, fear; impersonally, a foreboding comes into someone's mind.[2][4]
  3. To suppose, believe, conclude; to have an opinion, as opposed to knowing.[2][4]
  4. (parenthetical) οἶμαι, “I think”, softening an assertion; as an answer, “I think so”.[2][4]

Word family

  • ἐγᾦμαι (egōîmai)
  • οἴησις (oíēsis)
  • ἀνώιστος (anṓistos)

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 j k l Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  6. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge