τρώγω

Forms

τρώγω (trṓgō) ^[1]

Etymology

Beekes thinks it may be Pre-Greek: it has no Indo-European etymology, and it resembles τρώξανα (trṓxana, “dry wood”) and τρωξαλλίς (trōxallís, “locust”), whose vowel varies (beside the first there is τραύξανα (traúxana)) in the Pre-Greek way.^[2][3]

The Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben instead derives it from Proto-Indo-European *treh₃g- (“to gnaw”), explaining the aorist stem ἔτραγον (étragon) as a secondary zero grade, and compares Tocharian B tresk- (“to chew”).^[4][2] Wiktionary adds Old Armenian արածեմ (aracem, “to graze”).^[1] Beekes rejects this, since the secondary zero grade is doubtful and no root *treg- exists.^[2]

The grammarian Philoxenus derived it from a verb meaning “to hurt”, since whatever is gnawed is spoiled.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Odyssey it is used of mules, which crop the grass by the river.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it means to nibble or munch, mostly raw fruits, beans and sweets eaten as a snack: Herodotus uses it of figs, and Aristophanes of dainties.^[2][8][9] The aorist ἔτραγον occurs almost only in compounds.^[7][8] From Polybius on it means simply “to eat”, and the New Testament uses it so.^[8][9]

Derivatives include τρώκτης (trṓktēs, “gnawer, knave”), already in the Odyssey, τρώγλη (trṓglē, “hole”), τρωγλοδύτης (trōglodútēs, “hole-dweller”) and τρωγάλια (trōgália, “sweets”).^[2]

The Hellenistic sense “to eat” lives on in Modern Greek τρώω (tróo), which lost the γ between vowels; its aorist is supplied by έφαγα.^[10][11]

Timeline

• Homer – The Odyssey uses it of mules cropping grass.^[6][12]
• 7th–6th century BC – Solon uses it.^[8][13]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of eating figs.^[9][12][13]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it in the general sense “to eat”.^[8][13]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it of eating.^[9][8]
• Medieval Greek – The form τρώω appears, without the γ.^[11]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek τρώω (tróo) is the ordinary word for “to eat”.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To nibble or munch raw fruits, beans or sweets; to have a snack.^[7][8]
2. Of animals, to gnaw or crop grass and plants.^[7][8]
3. (Hellenistic, New Testament) To eat.^[8][9]

Word family

• τρώκτης (trṓktēs)
• τρωγάλια (trōgália)
• τρώγλη (trṓglē)
• τρωγλοδύτης (trōglodútēs)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
5. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
6. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ a b c d Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
12. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
13. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge