ταρβέω

Forms

ταρβέω (tarbéō) ^[1]

Etymology

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek.^[2] Furnée compared ταρμύσσω (tarmússō, “to startle”), with the alternation of /b/ and /m/ that Beekes counts among the marks of Pre-Greek words,^[3][2] and the stem is hard to derive from an Indo-European root, whose zero grade would have given /trab-/ rather than /tarb-/.^[3][2]

The noun τάρβος (tárbos, “fright”) has often been compared with Sanskrit तर्जति (tarjati, “threatens, reviles”), Latin torvus (“grim, fierce”), Middle Welsh tarfu (“to scare”) and Hittite tarkuwant- (“looking angrily”), under a root Proto-Indo-European *tergʷ-.^[2] Frisk finds the comparison with Sanskrit weak in meaning,^[4] and Beekes adds that the Welsh form is hard to reconstruct and that the change from “angry, fierce” to “shy” is not clear.^[2] Wiktionary derives the verb from that noun,^[1] but Beekes argues from the dates and frequency of the verb and the noun that the latter was formed from the verb, not the other way round.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, in epic and poetry, meaning to be afraid or to shrink back in alarm.^[2][5] In the first book of the Iliad it describes two heralds standing in fear before a hero.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb stayed poetic: it is common in Homer, the Homeric Hymns, Alcaeus and tragedy, and rare and late in prose.^[5][4] Besides the absolute sense “to be afraid” it took an object, “to fear someone or something”, in the Iliad, Pindar and tragedy, and an infinitive, “to be afraid to do something”, in Euripides.^[5] Boeotian had an athematic form τάρβειμι (tárbeimi), recorded by the grammarian Herodian.^[2][4] Its family includes τάρβος (tárbos, “fright”), ἀταρβής (atarbḗs, “fearless”) and ταρβαλέος (tarbaléos, “fearsome”).^[2]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for being afraid.^[6][5]
• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus uses it.^[5][7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it in the Persians and the Suppliants.^[6][7]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it with an infinitive and has the perfect τετάρβηκα (tetárbēka).^[5][2][7]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch still uses it.^[5][7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To be afraid or alarmed; to shrink back in fear.^[5][2]
2. To fear someone or something.^[5]
3. With an infinitive, to be afraid to do something.^[5]

Word family

• τάρβος (tárbos)
• ταρβοσύνη (tarbosúnē)
• ἀταρβής (atarbḗs)
• ἀτάρβητος (atárbētos)
• ταρβαλέος (tarbaléos)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge