φλέω

Forms

φλέω (phléō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *pʰléwō,^[1] probably from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- (“to overflow”).^[2][1] Its present, aorist and perfect go together like those of πλέω (pléō, “to sail”), and the hiatus in the participle points to an older stem with /w/, as in ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow”).^[2][3] The zero grade of the same root is φλύω (phlúō, “to swell, bubble up”).^[2][3]

Beekes finds the closest comparison in Latin fluō (“to flow”).^[2][1] He finds a link with Lithuanian bliáuti (“to roar”) semantically unconvincing, and notes that if the word belongs with βλύζω (blúzō, “to gush out”) it could instead be Pre-Greek.^[2] Chantraine explains the sense “be full” by the image of overflowing, which recurs in Latin abundō and affluō.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Aeschylus uses it in the Agamemnon of houses brimming with wealth and of flocks that abound.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb is rare: the corpus has it only in Aeschylus and once in Plutarch.^[6] A scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius glosses it as “to thrive”, and Hesychius as “is full, is fruitful”.^[3] Hesychius also gives it the sense “to babble”, which belongs with φλύω (phlúō).^[4][3]

Its derivatives name the vigour of plants: φλόος (phlóos), explained by Plutarch as the green and bloom of fruits, and the Laconian name of Kore as goddess of vegetation, Φλοία.^[3]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of wealthy houses and of abundant flocks.^[4][5][7]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch explains its derivative φλόος (phlóos) as the green and bloom of fruits.^[3][7]
• 5th century AD (probably) – Hesychius glosses it as “to be full, to bear fruit”, and also as “to babble”.^[3][4][7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To teem with plenty, abound; of houses, to be prosperous.^[4][5]
2. To babble.^[4]

Related words

• φλύω (phlū́ō)
• φλόος (phlóos)
• βλύζω (blúzō)
• Latin fluō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge