ὕω

Forms

ῡ̔́ω (hū́ō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *suh₂- (“to pour, scatter”), with a present suffix in yod.^[2][3] Wiktionary, following Jasanoff, takes this root to be a metathesized zero grade of Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ew- (“to pour, scatter, rain”), the root under which the LIV lists it.^[1][2]

Cognate with Hittite šuḫḫa- (“to scatter”) and išḫuwai- (“to throw, pour”), Tocharian B suwaṃ (“it rains”), Tocharian A swase (“rain”), Albanian shi (“rain”) and Old Prussian suge (“rain”).^[2][4][5] Pokorny put it under a root Proto-Indo-European *seu- (“juice, to press”), the root of Sanskrit सुनोति (sunóti, “presses out”), which Frisk calls hypothetical and of no consequence for Greek.^[6][5] Each language has its own verb for “to rain”, as οὐρανός (ouranós) and ἕρση (hérsē) show for other words of rain.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it is personal, with Zeus as subject: “Zeus rained” (Iliad 12.25, Odyssey 14.457); the passive participle is used of a lion drenched by the rain (Odyssey 6.131).^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

After Homer it is used impersonally, “it rains”, from Hesiod on, and Herodotus has it often of Egypt and Scythia.^[8][2] It takes an accusative of the place rained on (Herodotus: for seven years it did not rain on Thera) and a cognate accusative of what falls: in Pindar Zeus rained gold, and Aristophanes' clouds threaten to rain on the judges.^[8][9] The passive means “to be rained upon”, as when Herodotus says that Egyptian Thebes was rained upon, and later “to fall as rain”.^[8][2]

In the Septuagint God causes hail and bread to rain down.^[10] Hesychius glosses it with βρέχω (brékhō), the later verb for “to rain”.^[11] Modern Greek keeps the noun ὑετός (huetós) only as the learned word Modern Greek υετός (yetós), rainfall.^[12]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it with Zeus as subject.^[7][8]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it impersonally, “it rains”.^[8][13]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar says that Zeus rained gold.^[8][9][13]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the passive of places rained upon.^[8][13]
• 2nd century AD – Marcus Aurelius quotes an Athenian prayer for rain.^[8][13]
• Modern Greek – The derivative survives as the learned υετός (yetós).^[12]

Meanings

Verb

1. To rain, send rain, of Zeus or a god; with an accusative of the place rained on or of what falls (to rain gold).^[8][7][2]
2. (impersonal) It rains.^[8][2]
3. (passive) To be rained upon, get rain; of a country, to have rain.^[8][2]
4. (passive) To fall as rain.^[8]
5. (Koine) To cause to rain (hail, bread), of God.^[10]

Word family

• καθύομαι (kathúomai)
• ὑετός (hūetós)
• ὗσις (hûsis)
• ὕσμα (húsma)

Usage notes

Marcus Aurelius quotes an Athenian prayer: ὗσον, ὗσον, ὦ φίλε Ζεῦ, κατὰ τῆς ἀρούρας “rain, rain, dear Zeus, on the ploughland”.^[8]

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 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. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
4. ^ a b 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
5. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
7. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: De Gruyter
10. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
11. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
13. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge