Etymologically
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ὀρούω

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Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /o.rǔː.ɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /oˈru.o/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /oˈru.o/[1]

Forms

ὀρούω (oroúō) [1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *orówō, of uncertain origin.[1] Beekes takes it as a later present made from the Homeric aorist ⟨ὀροῦσαι⟩, with an o-coloured full grade like that of κρούω (kroúō) and κολούω (koloúō), from an extended root Proto-Indo-European *h₃r-u- beside the root *h₃er- of ὄρνυμι (órnumi, “to stir, rouse”).[2][1] He compares Latin ruō (“to rush, collapse”), from which De Vaan derives the Greek verb through a root *h₃rew-.[2][1] Chantraine finds the relation between ὄρνυμι (órnumi) and the aorist ⟨ὀροῦσαι⟩ unclear, though the stem recalls the type of κολούω (koloúō) and κρούω (kroúō).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses only the aorist, often with a prefix, always with words expressing motion to or from a place: a warrior springs into his chariot, a goddess plunges to the depths, a spear speeds from the hand, and the verb is used of sleep and of the winds.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

It stayed a poetic verb of epic, lyric and tragedy.[4] Pindar uses it of striving after a goal, Aeschylus of a leap, and Sophocles figuratively of insolence that plunges from its height into ruin.[6][4] Comedy has it only once, in the proverbial call “Partridge, spring up!”, meaning “look sharp”, and once in Philemon, of rushing towards death.[4] Late epic used it of horns that rise up.[4] The Stoics derived the noun ὄρουσις (órousis), “rising, impulse”.[2]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses the aorist of men, weapons, sleep and winds rushing or darting.[5][4]
  • 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it with a genitive, to strive after something, and with an infinitive, to be eager to do something.[4][6][7]
  • 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it in the Eumenides and the Agamemnon.[4][7]
  • 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it figuratively in Oedipus the King and Electra.[4][6][7]
  • 4th–3rd century BC – Philemon has the phrase “to rush towards death”.[4][7]
  • 2nd century AD – Oppian uses it of horns rising from the head.[4][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To rush, spring, dart (to or from a place); of a warrior, to charge the enemy.[4][6]
  2. Of a wild animal or a snake, to dart at its prey.[6]
  3. To plunge (into the sea, from a cliff); figuratively, of insolence or a guilty man, to plunge into ruin or a struggle.[6][4]
  4. Of a spear, to speed from the hand.[6][5]
  5. With a genitive, to strive after; with an infinitive, to be eager to.[4][6]
  6. To rise, tower.[4]

Word family

  • ἀνορούω (anoroúō)
  • ἐπορούω (eporoúō)
  • ἐξορούω (exoroúō)
  • ὄρουσις (órousis)
  • ὄρνυμι (órnūmi)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ 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 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
  5. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge