τρέχω
Pronunciation
- 5th-century BC Attic: /tré.kʰɔː/[1]
- 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈtre.xo/[1]
- 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈtre.xo/[1]
Forms
τρέχω (trékhō) [1] Dialectal τράχω; the future, aorist and perfect usually come from δραμεῖν (drameîn) (δραμοῦμαι, ἔδραμον, δεδράμηκα), with rare θρέξομαι and ἔθρεξα.[2][3]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to run, drag”).[4][1][5] Like its synonym θέω (théō, “to run”), it was at first limited to the present stem, and its aorist was supplied by δραμεῖν (drameîn), from Proto-Indo-European *drem- (“to run”).[4][1] The verb has no counterpart elsewhere in Indo-European, but its derivative τροχός (trokhós, “wheel”) matches Old Irish droch (“wheel”) exactly, both from *dʰrogʰo-; an Armenian word for the potter's wheel may show the lengthened grade.[4][6] LIV gives the root the meaning “to drag, pull”.[5] Chantraine notes that τρέχω competed with its older synonym and finally replaced it.[6]
Earliest recorded meaning
In Homer it is used of things that spin and of quick movement: in the Odyssey a drill keeps turning, and in the Iliad a line of dancers wheels round like a potter's wheel.[2][7]
Semantic evolution
From Aeschylus and Euripides on it is the ordinary verb to run, of persons and animals, and Pindar, Aristophanes and Xenophon use it for running in a race.[2] Figuratively, to run a race for one's life meant to be in a life-or-death contest.[2] The derivatives keep the idea of running: τροχός (trokhós) “wheel” and τροχίλος (trokhílos), a bird that runs.[4]
Modern Greek keeps it as τρέχω (trécho),[8] and Triantafyllidis takes two of its modern senses as semantic loans from English run and French courir.[8]
Timeline
- Homer – The Odyssey uses it of a spinning drill, and the Iliad of dancers wheeling round.[2][9]
- Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod personifies Oath running alongside crooked judgements.[2][9]
- 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for running a race.[2][10]
- 5th century BC – Aeschylus and Euripides use it for people running.[2][10]
- Modern Greek – It survives as Modern Greek τρέχω (trécho).[8]
Meanings
Verb
- Of a drill, to spin, rotate; of dancers, to wheel round, skip.[2]
- Of persons and animals, to run, hurry.[2][3]
- To run in a race.[2]
- (figurative) To run a race for something, to be in a contest for it.[2]
Word family
- ἀνατρέχω (anatrékhō)
- ἀποτρέχω (apotrékhō)
- διατρέχω (diatrékhō)
- ἐκτρέχω (ektrékhō)
- ἐντρέχω (entrékhō)
- ἐπιτρέχω (epitrékhō)
- κατατρέχω (katatrékhō)
- παρατρέχω (paratrékhō)
- περιτρέχω (peritrékhō)
- προστρέχω (prostrékhō)
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
- ^ a b 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
- ^ Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
- ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
- ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge