στέλλω

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /stél.lɔː/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈstel.lo/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈstel.lo/^[1]

Forms

στέλλω (stéllō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *stéľľō, a present in ⟨*-ye-⟩ from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to set up, prepare”).^[1][2][3] Related forms are Old Armenian ստեղծանեմ (stełcanem, “to create”), with an unexplained c, Albanian shtjell (“to wind up, hurl”) and Old Church Slavonic постьлати (postĭlati, “to spread”).^[3][2]

Some Aeolic forms begin with ⟨σπ-⟩, such as Sappho's ⟨σπόλα⟩ for στολή (stolḗ).^[3][4] Bechtel thought two roots had merged, *stel- “to send” and ⟨*skʷel-⟩ “to equip”, but the evidence for the second is meagre, and Beekes connects the Aeolic words with Proto-Indo-European *spel- (“to split”) instead.^[3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad a leader marshals his companions and urges them to fight, and in the Odyssey a ship is fitted out.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense is to put in order and make ready: to marshal soldiers, fit out a ship or an army, dress and equip a person; in the middle, to get oneself ready.^[6][5] A second group of senses is to draw in: to gather up one's clothes, to furl a sail, and figuratively to curtail one's speech or check something; doctors used it for binding the bowels.^[6][1] From “make ready for a journey” it came to mean to dispatch, send, and to summon or fetch, and in the middle or passive to set out.^[6][1]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament it is used only in the middle, “to keep away from, avoid”.^[8][9] The prefixed ἀποστέλλω (apostéllō, “to send off”) and ἐπιστέλλω (epistéllō, “to send to”) gave ἀπόστολος (apóstolos) and ἐπιστολή (epistolḗ); the simple verb gave στόλος (stólos, “expedition, fleet”) and στολή (stolḗ, “garment”).^[3][4] Byzantine στέλνω is the Modern Greek word for “to send”.^[1]

Timeline

• Homer – It is used for marshalling men and fitting out ships.^[5][7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it for furling a sail and for fitting out an army.^[6]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Euripides use it for sending persons and ships.^[6]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses the middle for shortening sail and curtailing one's words.^[6]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses the middle for keeping away from someone.^[9]
• Byzantine period – It becomes στέλνω “to send”.^[1]

Meanings

Verb

1. To put in order, make ready; to marshal soldiers.^[6][5]
2. To fit out, equip a ship or an army; to dress, array a person.^[6][1]
3. (middle) To get oneself ready; to set out on a journey.^[6][1]
4. To gather up clothes; to furl a sail; to curtail, check.^[6][1]
5. (medicine) To bind, make costive, or (middle) to restrict one's diet.^[1]
6. To dispatch, send.^[6][1]
7. To summon, fetch.^[6][1]
8. (middle, Septuagint and New Testament) To keep away from, avoid.^[8][9]

Word family

• ἀμφιστέλλομαι (amphistéllomai)
• ἀναστέλλω (anastéllō)
• ἀποστέλλω (apostéllō)
• ἄστολος (ástolos)
• αὐτόστολος (autóstolos)
• διαστέλλω (diastéllō)
• δίστολος (dístolos)
• ἐπιστέλλω (epistéllō)
• εὐσταλής (eustalḗs)
• εὔστολος (eústolos)
• ἰδιόστολος (idióstolos)
• καταστέλλω (katastéllō)
• κυανόστολος (kuanóstolos)
• λινόστολος (linóstolos)

Related words

• στάλιξ (stálix)
• σταλίς (stalís)
• στέλμα (stélma)
• στήλη (stḗlē)
• στολάς (stolás)
• στολή (stolḗ)
• στολίς (stolís)
• στολμός (stolmós)
• στόλος (stólos)
• ἀπόστολος (apóstolos)
• ἐπιστολή (epistolḗ)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c d 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 j k l m Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b 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