ἀρόω

Forms

ᾰ̓ρόω (aróō) ^[1] Epic infinitive ἀρώμεναι (arṓmenai) (Hesiod); Ionic perfect passive participle ἀρηρομένος (arēroménos).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃-ye- (“to plough”), an old present with the suffix /-ye-/ from the root *h₂erh₃-.^[4][1][5] The /o/ of the second syllable reflects the root's last laryngeal.^[4][6] Doric forms with /a/, such as Cretan ἄρατρον (áratron, “plough”), are probably due to the influence of ἀράω (aráō), according to Beekes;^[4] Chantraine finds the /a/ unexplained.^[4][6]

Cognate with Latin arō, Middle Irish airim, Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (arjan), Lithuanian árti and Old Church Slavonic орати (orati), all meaning “to plough”.^[4][1][6] The instrument noun ἄροτρον (árotron, “plough”) matches arātrum and Old Armenian արաւր (arawr).^[4][1] If Hittite ḫarra- (“to grind, crush”) is related, ploughing was first “breaking the soil”.^[4]

Ancient writers derived it from Ἄρης (Árēs), because the soil is cut with iron.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it describes ploughed land on the shield of Achilles, and in the Odyssey the Cyclopes, who neither plant nor plough.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Pindar uses it figuratively of the Muses preparing the ground for a poet, and Aeschylus of the sea ploughed by ships.^[2][3] Plato uses it for sowing seed in a garden.^[2][3]

Poets also used it of a man begetting children: Theognis speaks of ploughing another man's field, and Sophocles' Oedipus is said to have ploughed the mother who bore him; in the passive, Oedipus says he was “sown” in her.^[2][3]

Its derivatives include ἄροτρον (árotron, “plough”), ἀροτήρ (arotḗr, “ploughman”) and ἄρουρα (ároura, “tilled land”).^[4]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for ploughing.^[2][3]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it in the Works and Days.^[2][8]
• 6th century BC – Theognis uses it of a man begetting children.^[2][3][8]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of the Muses, and Aeschylus of the sea ploughed by ships.^[2][3][8]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it of Oedipus begetting his children.^[2][3][8]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for sowing seed.^[2][3][8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To plough, till; in the passive, of land, to be ploughed.^[2][3]
2. (figurative) Of the Muses, to prepare the ground for a poet; of ships, to plough the sea.^[2][3]
3. To sow seed.^[2][3]
4. (figurative) Of a man, to beget children by a woman; in the passive, to be begotten.^[2][3]

Word family

• ἄροσις (árosis)
• ἀροτήρ (arotḗr)
• ἀρότης (arótēs)
• ἄροτος (árotos)
• ἀροτρεύς (arotreús)
• ἄροτρον (árotron)
• ἄρουρα (ároura)
• ἀροσμός (arosmós)

Related words

• Latin arō
• Latin arātrum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
5. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
6. ^ a b c 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
7. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
8. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge