*teḱs-

Reconstruction

LIV has no root *tek̑s-.^[1] It sets up instead *tetḱ- 'to generate, to produce', traditionally *tek̑þ-, abstracted from a stem *tétk̑- that was reinterpreted as a root aorist; this goes back to a pre-Proto-Indo-European reduplicated aorist of *tek̑- 'to beget', which shifted from 'to beget' to 'to make by craft'.^[1] LIV puts Latin texō (“to weave, to build”) and Hittite takš- under 2.*tek- 'to weave, to braid', as an s-desiderative *ték/tek-s- that froze into a root present *téks-/tₑks-.^[2]

Kümmel reports Schumacher's case for *tek̑s-, based above all on Middle High German dehsen (“to break flax”) and Old High German dehsala (“axe”).^[3] Greek τέκτων (téktōn) would then be a blend of *tékson- and *tékstor-.^[3] In his note on the desiderative of *tek-, he adds that Schumacher separates dehsen from 'to weave', because it means rather 'to hew', and that Lipp disagrees.^[4]

Morphology

De Vaan reconstructs Latin texō as a present *teḱ-s- 'to fashion', Proto-Italic *tekse/o-.^[5] He takes the root to be the root 'to fashion' with an s-suffix.^[5] Kloekhorst reconstructs the Hittite verb as *téks-ti, *tks-énti.^[6]

Evidence

The sources agree that the Indo-Iranian verb, Avestan tāšt (“fashioned”) among others, goes back to the reduplicated *te-tḱ-.^[1][7][6] Derksen gives Old Church Slavonic тесати (tesati, “to hew”) the same origin,^[8] and Martirosyan notes that *te-tk̂- could not give the Armenian dialect word for 'spindle'.^[9] The case for a separate *teḱs- rests on Latin, Hittite and Germanic.^[5][6][3]

Competing analyses

• LIV: *tetk̑- 'to produce' for Indo-Iranian, Balto-Slavic and Ancient Greek τέκτων (téktōn), and a desiderative of 2.*tek- 'to weave' for Latin, Hittite and Germanic.^[1][2]
• Schumacher, reported by Kümmel: a root *tek̑s-.^[3]
• De Vaan: Latin texō may continue either *teḱ-s- or *te-tḱ-, and he prefers *teḱ-s-.^[5] He reports Meiser's view that texō belongs with Greek τέχνη (tékhnē), Old High German dehsala and Old Irish tál (“axe”) to a root *tek-s-.^[5]
• Beekes: τέκτων is an n-stem on *tetḱ-; the Hittite verb is probably an s-present, and texō may belong to either *teḱs- or *tetḱ-.^[7]
• Kloekhorst follows Oettinger in joining Hittite takš- with texō and Old Persian ham-taxša- (“to put together”) from *teks-, and rejects the link with the Sanskrit verb 'to fashion'.^[6]

Meanings

1. to fashion^[5]

LIV glosses *tetk̑- 'to generate, to produce' and 2.*tek- 'to weave, to braid'.^[1][2] LIV explains the Hittite and Old Persian sense 'to undertake' or 'to strive' from the desiderative, 'to want to weave'.^[2]

Derivatives

• Ancient Greek τέκτων (téktōn, “carpenter”) and Sanskrit तक्षन् (tákṣan, “carpenter”), an n-stem on *tetḱ- for Beekes, a blend of *tékson- and *tékstor- for Schumacher.^[7][3]
• Latin tēla (“web”) from *teks-lā-, and Latin subtīlis (“fine, precise”).^[5]

Reflexes

• Anatolian: Hittite takš- (“to devise, to unify, to undertake”).^[6]
• Indo-Iranian: Sanskrit तक्षन् (tákṣan, “carpenter”).^[10]
• Greek: Ancient Greek τέκτων (téktōn, “carpenter”).^[7]
• Italic: Latin texō (“to weave, to build”).^[5]
• Germanic: Middle High German dehsen (“to swingle flax”), in LIV's list under 2.*tek-.^[2]
• Slavic: Old Church Slavonic тесати (tesati, “to hew”), from *tetḱ- for Derksen.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *tetk̑-
2. ^ a b c d e Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 2.*tek-
3. ^ a b c d e Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 91
4. ^ Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 88
5. ^ a b c d e f g h de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. texō
6. ^ a b c d e Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 813
7. ^ 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, p. s.v. τέκτων
8. ^ a b Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 491
9. ^ Martirosyan, Hrach K. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 299
10. ^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1986–2001), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 610