Etymologically
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τρέω

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Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /tré.ɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈtre.o/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈtre.o/[1]

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)

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