ὑπό

Forms

ῠ̔πό (hupó) (governs the genitive, dative, and accusative)^[1] Epic also ὑπαί, Aeolic and Boeotian ὐπά, Arcadian ὀπύ, Ionic hυπύ once, in a 5th-century BC inscription from Cumae.^[2][3][4] Mycenaean Greek u-po, found a few times, mostly as an adverb.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“below, under”).^[5][3][4] Cognate with Sanskrit उप (úpa) and Avestan upa “towards, near”, Gothic 𐌿𐍆 (uf, “under”), Gaulish ⟨Vo-⟩ and Old Irish fo (“under”); with an unexplained initial /s/, Latin sub belongs here too, as super does beside ὑπέρ (hupér).^[5][3][4] The rough breathing is the regular one before initial /u/.^[1]

The sense “under” is shared by Greek, Italic, Gothic and Celtic, and Chantraine suggests that “from below” led to the sense “towards, beyond” of Indo-Iranian, and in Greek itself to the derivatives ὕπατος (húpatos), ὕπτιος (húptios) and ὕψι (húpsi).^[3]

Epic ὑπαί (hupaí) is modelled on παραί (paraí) and καταί (kataí), Aeolic and Boeotian ὐπά (hupá) follows κατά (katá) and μετά (metá), and Arcadian ὀπύ (opú) has the final /u/ of ἀπύ (apú).^[5][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is already found in Mycenaean, as u-po, mostly as an adverb.^[3] In Homer it means “under, beneath” with all three cases, and “from under” with the genitive: the dead “will rise again from under the gloom”.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

With the dative it marks rest beneath something, and so subjection: to be “under” a king or a master.^[6][2] With the accusative it marks motion to a place beneath, and nearness: “up close under” a city wall or a coast; it is also used of time, “during” the night or “about” a given time.^[6] With the genitive, “from under” became “through the agency of”: Homer already uses it of the agent, and in Classical Greek ὑπό with the genitive is the regular way to name the agent of a passive verb, and also the cause, an emotion such as fear or anger.^[6][2] It also names the music that accompanies something, “to the sound of the aulos”.^[6]

In Modern Greek υπό (ipó) is a learned word, used with the accusative in set expressions such as “below zero” or “under someone's leadership”.^[7]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – The tablets have u-po, mostly as an adverb.^[3][4]
• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it with the genitive, dative and accusative, of place and of agency.^[6][2]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides use it with the accusative of time and with the genitive of the agent.^[6][8]
• 5th century BC – An inscription from Cumae writes it hυπύ.^[2][3]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it of shelter behind defences.^[6][8]
• Modern Greek – The learned υπό (ipó) survives in set phrases with the accusative.^[7]

Meanings

Preposition

1. (with the genitive) From under, out from beneath.^[2][6]
2. (with the genitive) Under, beneath (of position).^[6]
3. (with the genitive) By, through the agency of, the usual construction of the agent with passive verbs; because of, out of (fear, anger).^[6][2]
4. (with the genitive) To the accompaniment of (music, torches).^[6]
5. (with the dative) Under, beneath; under the power of, subject to.^[6][2]
6. (with the accusative) To a place under; up close to (a wall, a coast).^[6]
7. (with the accusative) Of time: during, in the course of; about, at the time of.^[6]
8. (with the accusative) Under the control of, subject to.^[6]

Adverb

1. Underneath, below.^[6]

Word family

• ὕπατος (húpatos)
• ὕπτιος (húptios)
• ὑπέκ (hupék)
• ὑπάλληλος (hupállēlos)

Related words

• ὕπαιθα (húpaitha)
• ὑπέρ (hupér)
• ὕψι (húpsi)
• Latin sub

Usage notes

It sometimes follows its noun, with the accent thrown back (ὕπο).^[6] In compounds it means “under”, and also “slightly, somewhat”, as in the phrase ὑπό τι “a little”.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge