Etymologically
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ἔχω

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /é.kʰɔː/[1]
  • IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈe.xo/[1]
  • IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈe.xo/[1]

Forms

ἔχω (ékhō) [1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *hékʰō, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *séǵʰeti, a thematic present of the root Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to overpower, get hold of”).[1][2][3] Mycenaean has Mycenaean Greek e-ke, “has”.[3][2] The reduplicated present ἴσχω (ískhō) comes from ⟨*σί-σχ-ω⟩, and the aorist ἔσχον (éskhon) has the zero grade of the root.[3][4]

The exact cognate is Sanskrit सहते (sáhate, “overpowers, conquers”); the root is also in Germanic and Celtic words for victory and strength, such as Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍃 (sigis) and Gaulish names in ⟨Sego-⟩.[3][4] In Greek the meaning developed strongly from “get hold of” to “hold, have”.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mycenaean tablets have e-ke.[3][2] In Homer it already covers holding in the hands, possessing, keeping and wearing, and intransitive uses such as “to hold firm”.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Its uses are many: to hold by physical contact, to have in one's possession, to keep, to wear clothes or arms, to inhabit a place, to hold a course, to hold back or check.[6][1][7] With an infinitive it means “to be able” and later also “to have to”; with an adverb, used intransitively, it expresses a state, as εὖ ἔχω “I am well”.[1][7] In the middle it means to cling to, to be next to (ὁ ἐχόμενος “the next”), to depend on or pertain to, and to keep oneself from something.[1][8]

The Septuagint and the New Testament use it for owning, having children, holding opinions and being in a certain condition.[8][9] Medieval Greek kept it in all its senses, and it survives as έχω (écho) “to have”, also in Italiot Greek and Mariupol Greek.[10][11][1] Its zero grade is the base of σχῆμα (skhêma, “form”) and σχολή (skholḗ, “leisure”), and its full grade of ἕξις (héxis, “state, habit”).[3][1]

Timeline

  • Mycenaean period – The tablets have e-ke.[3][2]
  • Homer – It is used for holding, having, keeping and wearing.[5][6]
  • 5th century BC – Prose writers use it with an adverb to express a state, “to be in a certain condition”.[7][1]
  • 3rd–1st century BC – The Septuagint uses the middle participle for “next”.[8]
  • 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for owning and having.[9]
  • 12th–17th century – Vernacular Greek uses it as the general verb “to have”.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To hold, have in one's hands; to grip.[6][1]
  2. To have, possess, own; to keep, have charge of.[1][9]
  3. To bear, wear arms or clothes, or (of a woman) to be pregnant.[1][7]
  4. To inhabit a place.[1][6]
  5. To hold a course, steer; to hold back, check.[1][6]
  6. To understand, know.[1][8]
  7. (with infinitive) To be able; later, to have to.[1][8]
  8. (intransitive, with an adverb) To be in a certain state: εὖ ἔχειν, to be well.[1][7]
  9. (middle) To cling to; to be next to; to depend on, pertain to.[1][8]
  10. (middle) To keep oneself from, abstain.[1]

Word family

  • ἀμπέχω (ampékhō)
  • ἀνέχω (anékhō)
  • ἀντέχω (antékhō)
  • ἀπέχω (apékhō)
  • εἰσέχω (eisékhō)
  • ἐνέχω (enékhō)
  • ἐξέχω (exékhō)
  • ἐπέχω (epékhō)
  • ἑστιοῦχος (hestioûkhos)
  • εὐνοῦχος (eunoûkhos)
  • ἐχέγγυος (ekhénguos)
  • ἐχεπευκής (ekhepeukḗs)
  • ἐχέφρων (ekhéphrōn)
  • κατέχω (katékhō)
  • ἄσχετος (áskhetos)
  • ἔγμα (égma)
  • ἑκτέος (hektéos)
  • ἑκτικός (hektikós)
  • Ἕκτωρ (Héktōr)
  • ἕξις (héxis)
  • ἐχέτης (ekhétēs)
  • ἐχέτλη (ekhétlē)
  • ἔχης (ékhēs)
  • ἔχησις (ékhēsis)
  • ἴσχω (ískhō)
  • σχῆμα (skhêma)
  • σχολή (skholḗ)

Usage notes

A second, unrelated verb ἔχω “to carry, bring” is found only in Pamphylian ϝεχέτω and a Cypriot aorist ἔϝεξε; it continues Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to transport”), like Latin vehō, and is related to ὄχος (ókhos, “chariot”).[3][4][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  5. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  6. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f 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 Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
  9. ^ a b c 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 Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  11. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki