παύω

Forms

παύω (paúō) ^[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^[2][3] Beekes notes that the form would allow a reconstruction Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-u-, as the LIV gives it, but that there are no certain cognates outside Greek;^[2][1] the LIV keeps this root apart from the homophonous *peh₂w- (“few, little”).^[1] It has also been linked to Proto-Slavic *pustìti (“to let go”).^[1]

Chantraine reports Schwyzer's hypothesis that the first sense was “to strike someone to drive him off”: the present would have been rebuilt on the aorist, which originally belonged to παίω (paíō, “to strike”).^[3] Babiniotis also mentions this link, pointing to Homeric passages where it is used of stopping a fighting man.^[4] Chantraine notes that the stem has no -σ-, as the Homeric perfect πέπαυμαι (pépaumai) shows, and that the -σ- of παυστήρ (paustḗr) is not original.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, as a transitive verb “to stop, check” and in the middle “to cease”.^[2][5] The Iliad uses it of stopping a person and of putting an end to anger, strife or pain.^[6][5][7]

Semantic evolution

In Homer it takes a person in the accusative and the thing in the genitive, “to keep someone from” battle or toil, or a participle or infinitive, “to stop someone doing”.^[6][5] The middle means to rest or to cease, as of a singer or speaker; the middle was used of a willing stop and the passive of a forced one.^[6]

It formed many compounds and nouns, such as ἀναπαύω (anapaúō, “to give rest”), καταπαύω (katapaúō), παῦλα (paûla, “rest, pause”) and παῦσις (paûsis, “stopping”).^[2] The Septuagint uses it for causing something to cease and, in the middle, for ceasing.^[8] Through Latin pausa, from παῦσις, comes English pause.^[9]

Medieval Greek had the forms παύγω, still Cretan, and παύτω, and the participle παμένος, still used in popular speech.^[10] Modern Greek παύω (pávo) means to stop doing something.^[11]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of stopping a person or putting an end to anger.^[6][5]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the middle of a speaker who ceases.^[6][12]
• Septuagint – It means “to cause to cease” and, in the middle, “to cease”.^[8]
• Early 15th century – English pause appears, from Latin pausa.^[9]
• Modern Greek – παύω means “to stop”.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make cease, stop, check, of a person or of anger, strife or pain.^[6][5][13]
2. To keep someone from something (with the genitive); to give someone rest.^[6]
3. To stop someone from doing something (with a participle or infinitive).^[6]
4. (middle) To cease, leave off; to rest.^[6][5]

Word family

• ἀναπαύω (anapaúō)
• καταπαύω (katapaúō)
• παῦλα (paûla)
• παῦσις (paûsis)

Related words

• Latin pausa
• English pause

Usage notes

Babiniotis notes that παύω was distinguished from its synonym λήγω (lḗgō), παύω being transitive and λήγω intransitive.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b c 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
4. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b c d e f Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
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. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
13. ^ Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press