ἕπομαι

Forms

ἕπομαι (hépomai) ^[1] Mycenaean e-qe-ta /hekwetās/, a derivative meaning “follower, companion”, the same word as ἑπέτης (hepétēs).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow, join”): the present ἕπομαι is identical with Sanskrit सचते (sácate) and Avestan hacaitē, from Proto-Indo-European *sékʷ-e-toi.^[2][3] The aorist ἑσπόμην (hespómēn), σπέσθαι (spésthai) is an old root aorist from the zero grade Proto-Indo-European *skʷ-; the indicative took its rough breathing from the present.^[1][3] Beekes follows Braswell in accepting the forms with ⟨ἑσπ-⟩ outside the indicative, which Frisk and Chantraine rejected, since Pindar already has some.^[2]

Cognate with Latin sequor (“to follow”) and Lithuanian sèkti (“to follow”).^[2][3] The Germanic verb for “to see” (English see) may also belong here, as “to follow with the eyes”, though the meaning differs.^[2][3] Mycenaean still wrote the labiovelar in Mycenaean Greek e-qe-ta /hekwetās/.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad Achilles reminds Agamemnon that the Achaeans followed him to Troy to please him.^[4][5] Homer uses it of going along with someone as companion or attendant, following a leader, and pursuing an enemy.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

From physical following the verb came to mean obeying: following a command, a sign or a custom.^[6] In Homer things can follow too: lungs come out with a spear, a helmet with the hand pulling it.^[6] Plato uses it of following an argument, understanding it, and Herodotus of what follows in time.^[6] It is rare in the Septuagint, which has it once, of obeying.^[7] The compounds ἐφέπω (ephépō) and συνέπομαι (sunépomai) are formed from it.^[1]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – The derivative Mycenaean Greek e-qe-ta “follower, companion”.^[2]
• Homer – The Iliad uses it of following a leader to war.^[4][5]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides use it of following a custom.^[6][8]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of following an argument.^[6][8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To go along with, accompany, attend.^[6][5]
2. To follow someone who leads.^[6]
3. To follow up, pursue an enemy or prey.^[6]
4. To keep pace with; to match or suit.^[6]
5. Of things: to come away with something pulled.^[6]
6. To be guided by a track or a sign; to obey a command or a custom.^[6][7]
7. To follow an argument, understand.^[6]
8. To follow in time, come next.^[6]

Word family

• ἐφέπω (ephépō)
• συνέπομαι (sunépomai)
• ἑπέτης (hepétēs)
• ὀπάων (opā́ōn)
• ὀπηδός (opēdós)

Related words

• Latin sequor

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
5. ^ a b c d Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
8. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge