τιτρώσκω

Forms

τῐτρώσκω (titrṓskō) ^[1] Epic present τρώω, Cretan aorist forms with τρωω-.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a reduplicated present with the suffix -σκω (-skō).^[1][4] The Attic noun τραῦμα (traûma, “wound”), beside Ionic and Doric τρῶμα (trôma), shows that the root varies between ⟨τρω-⟩ and ⟨τραυ-⟩.^[5][6] Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because that variation cannot be explained in Indo-European terms but is found in Pre-Greek words such as κασαύρα (kasaúra) beside κασωρίς (kasōrís) and θαῦμα (thaûma) beside θῶμα (thôma); he would therefore delete the root of the LIV.^[5][6]

Others treat the word as Indo-European:^[3][7] Frisk and Chantraine take the Attic noun as remodelled after θραῦμα (thraûma, “fragment”) and derive the verb from the root of τείρω (teírō, “to wear out”) and τετραίνω (tetraínō, “to pierce”), meaning “to pierce”; the LIV sets up a root Proto-Indo-European *terh₃- (“to wound”).^[3][8][1] An older view starting from a long diphthong linked it with τέρυς (térus, “weak”), which Beekes finds unconvincing.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on: the Iliad has the future middle in a passive sense, “to be wounded”, and the Odyssey the epic present τρώω, used of wine that “does harm” to a man.^[2][3][9]

Semantic evolution

The verb meant “to wound” a person or animal with a weapon, and in the passive “to be wounded”; the Septuagint even uses the perfect participle for the slain.^[2][10] More generally it meant “to damage”: Herodotus and Thucydides use it of ships disabled in battle, and Aristotle of breaking an egg.^[2][10] Figuratively wine, love or a handsome person could “wound” someone, as in Euripides' Hippolytus,^[2] Aeschylus once uses it of heaven uniting with earth.^[2][10][3]

With the prefix ἐκ- (ek-) it meant “to miscarry”, the Ionic word for which Attic used another verb.^[3] From it come ἔκτρωμα (éktrōma, “miscarriage”) and the medical τρωσμός (trōsmós).^[3][5] The noun τραῦμα (traûma), with its derivatives for wounds and the wounded, became the common word.^[5]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad has its future in the sense “to be wounded”.^[2][9]
• 6th century BC – Theognis uses its future.^[2][9]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of damaged ships, and Hippocrates of miscarriage.^[2][3]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it of love wounding the heart.^[2][10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To wound, injure a person, an animal or a part of the body; in the passive, to be wounded.^[2][10]
2. To kill; in the perfect passive participle, the slain (Septuagint).^[2]
3. To damage, disable, especially ships in battle; to break (an egg).^[2][10]
4. (figurative) Of wine, love or a beautiful person, to harm, overpower, wound the heart.^[2][10]
5. (medicine, passive) To have a miscarriage.^[2][3]

Related words

• τραῦμα (traûma)
• τρωτός (trōtós)
• τρῶσις (trôsis)

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 j k l m n o Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
8. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
9. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press