τετρώκοντα

Forms

τετρώκοντᾰ (tetrṓkonta) ^[1] Indeclinable.^[2] The matching ordinal is τετρωκοστός (tetrōkostós).^[2]

Etymology

It is the Doric form of the word for “forty”, beside Attic-Ionic τεσσαράκοντα (tessarákonta).^[3][2][4] Like that form, it is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwr̥̄ḱomt (“forty”), from an earlier compound “four-ten”.^[1] The first part is the numeral τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).^[5][3]

The long ⟨ω⟩ is the difficulty.^[6][3] Frisk calls the form unclear and compares Latin quadrāgintā (“forty”).^[6] Beekes cites Kortlandt's explanation: the laryngeal-like feature left by the initial ⟨d⟩ of the second member was coloured to an o-quality by the preceding ⟨u⟩ of the first.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Doric inscriptions: the Heraclean Tables, a 4th-century BC inscription from Delphi and a 3rd-century BC one from Stymphalus.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It stayed a dialect form.^[2] Attic wrote τετταράκοντα, Ionic τεσσεράκοντα, Boeotian πετταράκοντα (pettarákonta), and Troezen once has τεταράκοντα.^[2][3] Pape also cites it from Archimedes, who wrote in Doric.^[4]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – An inscription from Delphi has the form.^[2]
• 3rd century BC – An inscription from Stymphalus has it, and Archimedes uses it.^[2][4][7]

Meanings

Numeral

1. (Doric) Forty.^[2][4][1]

Word family

• τετρωκοστός (tetrōkostós)
• τετρωκοντάλιτρος (tetrōkontálitros)

Related words

• τεσσαράκοντα (tessarákonta)
• τέσσαρες (téssares)
• Latin quadrāgintā

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 Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 d Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge