τρέω

Forms

τρέω (tréō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *tréhō,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tréseti, from *tres- (“to tremble with fear”).^[1][2][3] The intervocalic /s/ was lost, but it remains in the aorist τρέσαι (trésai) and the adjective ἄτρεστος (átrestos) “fearless”.^[2][4]

It matches Sanskrit त्रसति (trásati, “to tremble, be afraid”);^[2][3] Avestan tərəsaiti and Old Persian tarsatiy “fears” continue a form in ⟨-sk-⟩.^[2][3] Latin terreō (“to frighten”) and Umbrian tursitu “let him put to flight” go back to the causative *tros-éye-.^[3][2] τρέμω (trémō) “to tremble” is a parallel extension of the same base.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is to shrink back or flee in fear, and Aristarchus held that this was its usual Homeric sense; warriors scatter “each his own way”, or flee beneath a wall.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

From Pindar and tragedy on it means to fear, to be afraid of someone or something, with an accusative or a clause; it is rare in prose.^[7][6] At Sparta the aorist participle ὁ τρέσας “the one who trembled” was a technical term for a man who had fled in battle, and Herodotus calls Aristodemus so; comedy made a noun τρεσᾶς (tresâs) of it.^[6][2] In an Argive inscription of the 6th or 5th century BC it means to go into exile, like Attic φεύγω (pheúgō).^[6][2]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of fleeing in fear.^[6][8]
• 7th century BC – Tyrtaeus speaks of men who fled in battle.^[6][9]
• 6th–5th century BC – An Argive inscription uses it for being banished.^[6]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus calls Aristodemus “the one who trembled”.^[6][9]
• 5th century BC – Aeschylus and Sophocles use it of fearing someone.^[6][7][9]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch explains the Spartan term for cowards.^[6][9]

Meanings

Verb

1. To flee in fear, shrink back.^[6][7]
2. To be afraid; to fear or dread someone or something.^[6][7]
3. (Sparta, aorist participle as a noun) ὁ τρέσας, a runaway, coward.^[6][7]
4. (Argive) To be banished, live in exile.^[6][2]

Word family

• ἄτρεστος (átrestos)
• τρέστης (tréstēs)

Related words

• τρέμω (trémō)
• Latin terreō

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 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 c d Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
4. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
9. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge