πάλλω

Pronunciation

• 5th-century BC Attic: /pál.lɔː/^[1]
• 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈpal.lo/^[1]
• 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈpal.lo/^[1]

Forms

πάλλω (pállō) ^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2] In LIV it is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥-n-h₁-e-, a nasal present of *pelh₁- (“to set in motion, swing”), which would give ⟨παλλ-⟩ as βάλλω (bállō) has its /ll/, with a reduplicated aorist *pe-plh₁-e- behind ⟨πεπαλ-⟩; the same root is seen in πελεμίζω (pelemízō) “to shake” and πόλεμος (pólemos) “war”, and in Slovene pláti “to surge”.^[2][3][1] Beekes thinks this possible in theory, but notes that nothing else points to a nasal present of this root.^[2][1] Babiniotis compares Latin pellō (“to push, drive”).^[4]

The aorist πάλτο (pálto) and the middle πάλλομαι (pállomai) “to leap” arose from compounds of ἅλλομαι (hállomai) “to jump”, such as κατεπᾶλτο (katepâlto), wrongly divided as if they held an augmented ⟨ἔ-παλτο⟩.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for poising and brandishing a spear (δοῦρε δύω πάλλων, “brandishing two spears”, Iliad 3.19), for dandling a child, for shaking lots in a helmet, and in the passive for a throbbing heart.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The Homeric uses stayed in poetry: tragedy and comedy have it for wielding weapons, and in the passive for a heart that quakes with fear.^[7] It also described quick movement: horses prancing, a dolphin gambolling, a dancer leaping, and in Herodotus netted fish thrashing about.^[7] Plutarch uses the passive for palpitations of the heart.^[7]

Modern Greek keeps πάλλω (pállo) “to vibrate”, with the noun Modern Greek παλμός (palmós).^[4]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for brandishing spears and shaking lots, and in the passive of the heart.^[5][6]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it for wielding a shield.^[7][8]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus has the middle for casting lots and the passive for fish quivering in a net.^[7][8]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it of horses prancing and of a dolphin gambolling.^[7][8]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses the passive for palpitations.^[7][8]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek πάλλω (pállo) means “to vibrate”.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To poise or sway a spear or other missile before throwing it.^[6][7]
2. To brandish, wield (a shield, a spear, a bow, an axe).^[7]
3. To dandle (a baby).^[7][5]
4. To shake lots in a container; in the middle, to cast lots.^[7][5]
5. To move quickly (feet, wings); intransitive, to prance, gallop, gambol, leap.^[7]
6. (passive) To quiver, sway, throb; of a person or heart, to quake or palpitate (usually with fear).^[7][5]

Word family

• ἀναπάλλω (anapállō)
• καταπάλτης (katapáltēs)
• καταπέλτης (katapéltēs)
• πάλη (pálē)
• πάλος (pálos)
• παλτός (paltós)
• παλμός (palmós)
• πάλσις (pálsis)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
4. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
6. ^ a b c Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge