Greek

Nikolaev, A., 2011. Indo-European *dem(h2)- 'to build' and its derivatives. Historische Sprachforschung, 123, p.56-96.Abstract
nikolaev_ie_dem.pdf
The root meaning ‘to build; to amass; to grow’ is customarily reconstructed as *demh2-; this paper examines the evidence pro and contra this reconstruction. In the first part of this paper it is shown that a number of nominal offshoots from this root clearly contradict the reconstruction *demh2-: 1) Gk. δμώς ‘slave’ (not †δαμώς) < *dm-ōu̯-; 2) MIr. dét ‘disposition, habitude’ (not †dmáth / †dmath), MWelsh pl. deint ‘temper, character’ < *dmto-; 3) Hitt. dametar ‘abundance’ (not †dammetar). This paper further addresses the notorious Greek forms δέμας and perf. δεδμᾱ-. For δέμας ‘body’ a reconstruction of a secondary s-stem derivative from a stem with a suffixal *-h2- is suggested: this reconstruction is supported by HLuv. tamiḫit ‘abundance, prosperity’ which matches Hitt. dam(m)etar ‘abundance’ in the meaning and the uniqueness of the suffixal vocalism (vs. usual -atar / -ann in Hittite and -aḫit in Luvian). On the evidence of these forms a hysterokinetic stem *dm ēh2-, *dm-h2-es is reconstructed; this stem is best interpreted as an internal derivative of *dem-h2 , *dm-eh2-s (cf. *k̑er-h2 ‘horn (material)’ → *k̑er-h2-s ( > κέρας) and *k̑r-e:h2 ( > κάρη). Other nominal derivatives of the same root discussed in this paper include Indo-Iranian *dmāna-, n. ‘house, dwelling place’ (analyzed here as a substantivized Romānus-type adjective *dmeh2-no-m), Lat. māteriēs ‘timber’ (traced back to *dmeh2-tes-ih2-, a devī-derivative from *dmeh2-tes- ⇐ *dm-h2-to-) and a very unclear case of Gk. (μεσό)δμη = NPhryg. (ακρο)δμαν. Lastly, reconstruction of an acrostatic stem *domh2- (subst.) can perhaps account for the enigmatic Homeric form δῶ, Myc. do(-de) via *domh2 > *dōm (Szemerényi–Nussbaum’s law) > *dōmh2 (with restored *-h2) > *dō(h2) (Brandenstein’s law). The third part of this chapter investigates the verbal system of the root *dem- and its reflexes in Greek, where we find a confusing picture: middle perfect stem δέδμη- (Ionic-Attic) / δέδμᾱ- (Doric) speaks for *demh2-, Myc. part. fut. de-me-o-te may either be a straightforward case of a “liquid” future, derived from a root *dem-, or continue a root *demh1-, while pres. δέμω, aor. ἔδειμα present a highly atypical Averbo for a root of the structure CeRH-. It is argued that the evidence of Doric δέδμανται and -δμᾱτος in melic poetry, customarily cited as the prima facie evidence in support of a reconstruction *demh2-, is in fact not airtight: δέδμανται (Theoc.15.120) has high chances of being a hyperdoricism created in order to obtain the desired literary effect via a substitution of *dedmę̄- by *dedmā- by proportional analogy: Ionic aor. ἐρρύη (perf. ἐρρύηκα): Doric aor. ἐρρύᾱ = Ionic (δέ)δμη- : X, where Χ is resolved as (δέ)δμᾱ (cf. γεγεναμένον (Pi. O. 6, 53) or μεμενακώς in Archimedes). Lastly, this paper argues that the perfect stem δέδμη- is due to analogy to semantically close verb νέμω ‘to dispense; med. to hold land’ which goes back to a seṭ-root, as can be inferred from Gk. νέμεσις < *nemh1-ti , the accentuation of Latv. (dial.) nemt ‘he takes’ and perf. νενέμημαι from old *ne-nmē- < *ne-nmh1- (with an adjustment of the root ablaut in order to avoid a metathesis to *ne-mnē-). As a result of two analogies, pres. *neme/o-, aor. neme-s-, perf. *ne-nmē- and pres. *deme/o-, aor. *dem-s-, perf. *de-də- evolve into two similar sets of forms: δέμω, ἔδειμα, δέδμημαι and νέμω, ἔνειμα, νενέμημαι.
Nikolaev, A., 2005. К действию закона Рикса в древнегреческом языке (Lex Rix before nasals in Greek). In N. N. Kazansky, et al. Hr̥dā́ mánasā: Studies presented to Professor Leonhard G. Herzenberg on the occasion of his 70th birthday. St.-Petersburg: Nauka, p. 38-72.Abstract
In this paper I suggest that Rix Law was not operative before nasals; instead, a development of word-initial *h1/2/3NC- to ἀC- is advocated. This claim can be supported by quite a few etymologies, some of which were proposed before (such as ἄσις < *h2m̥s-i-, Mycenaean a-i-qe-u < *h2n̥si-, ἄττομαι < *h2n̥t-̯e/o-, ἀδήν < *hxn̥gwen-, ἄορ < *h2n̥s-r̥ or ἀθήρ as opposed to ἀνθέριξ), while others are put forth here for the first time: ἀρετή < *h2n̥r-etéh2 ‘valour, manliness’ (ἀνήρ); ἄχθος < *h1n̥k̑-dh-es- ‘burden’ (ἐνεγκεῖν); ἄτερ < *h2n̥ter (MGerm. ohne). Possible counter¬examples are discussed as well: it appears perfectly possible and even in some cases advantageous from the viewpoint of what we know about PIE morphology to explain all of alleged examples of *h1/2/3NC- > ἐ/ἀ/ὀνC- as formations with full-grade in the root (ἀμφί < *h2entbhi ; ἀμβλύς < *h2emlh2-u- ‘soft’; ἄγγελος < *h2éng̑h1lo- ‘endowed with rapidity’ derived from *h2n̥g̑h1ló- ‘fast’; ἄνθρωπος < *h2endhro-h3kw-o-; ἄμφην ‘neck’ < *h2enghu̯-en ‘what is situated in narrow part [of the body]’. Rix Law thus seems to be confined to the liquid cases only.
Nikolaev, A., 2006. Ἰάονες. Acta Linguistica Petropolitana, 2(1), p.100-115.Abstract
Nikolaev_iaones.pdf
This paper puts forth a new etymology for the name of Ionians. It is suggested that this ethnicon is based on a (self-proclaimed?) assertion of a physical strength and goes back to a preform *wiH-eh2won- (with a dissimilatory loss of the first /w/, the existence of which is now confirmed by the new reading wi-ja-wo-ne KN Wm 1707). The base noun *wiH-eh2 ‘strength’ is related to the root noun *wiH- in Homeric ἶφι, Latin uīs as ἀλκή to Dat. Sg. ἀλκί. In this connection the derivational process that produces possessive nouns in *-won from *-h2- stems (of the type ὀπάων ‘companion’) is discussed. It is suggested that since both *-won-stems and *-h2- stems are substantives, one should assume an adjectival stem *sekweh2-u- ‘having companionship’ as an intermediate stage (probably indirectly reflected in Lithuanian (at)sakõvas); *sekweh2-u- ‘having companionship’ results in *sekweh2-won- ‘that one who has companionship’ by addition of the individualizing Catō-suffix.
Nikolaev, A., 2004. Die Etymologie von altgriechischem ὕβρις. Glotta. Zeitschrift für griechische und lateinische Sprache, 80, p.114-125.Abstract
Nikolaev_Die_Etymologie_von_altgr._hybris_2004.pdf
There is no compelling etymology for Greek ὕβρις (hubris) ‘wanton violence’. Earlier attempts to relate this word to the Indo-European root *gwerh2- 'heavy' are unsatisfactory, as they do not explain the inflection in short -ĭ-; moreover, a preposition ὑ- is not supported by any actual evidence. A different solution can be offered: some Homeric usages of ὕβρις suggests that the original meaning of this word may have been simply ‘physical power’. This paper argues that ὕβρις goes back directly to PIE acrostatically inflected i-stem abstract noun *Hi̯o(H2)gw-ri- ‘might’, internally derived from *Hi̯aH2gw-ro- ‘mighty’ (the root of ἥβη, lith. (pa)-jėgà), with the loss of laryngeal according to the Weather-rule and change of ο to υ in labial environment (Cowgill’s Law).
Nikolaev, A., 2007. The name of Achilles. Cambridge Classical Journal, Supp. vol. 32 (= Greek and Latin from an Indo-European Perspective), p.162-173.Abstract
Nikolaev_The_name_of_Achilles.pdf
In this paper a new etymology for the name of Achilles is put forth. It is argued that the name continues a compound *h2nghi-(h2)wl(H)o- 'slaying death'. The first member of the compound, *h2nghi- (> Greek akhi-, as Rix Law was not operative before nasals), is related to Younger Avestan azah- ‘desperate straits, perilous juncture’, Vedic áṃhas- ‘distress, trouble’, Latin angustus and other derivatives from the root *h2emgh- that originally referred to 'narrowness' and 'constricting space', but at least in the Indo-Iranian poetic tradition came to be used in the meaning 'peril' as a replacement of inherited words for 'death': Avestan (vī)tar-ązah- makes a perfect equation with Vedic áṃhas- tari- and the formula serves as an equivalent of PIE *nek- / *mr̥tim *terh2- (Vedic mr̥tyum tar-, Greek νέκταρ). The root *h2emgh- is therefore one of the exponents of the PIE formulaic theme «HERO SLAYS DEATH». The second member of the reconstructed compound *h2nghi-wl(H)o- continues the PIE root *wel(H) attested in Tocharian (A wäl- ‘die’), Greek (ἑάλων ‘I am seized’, but notice the older meaning in θανάτῳ ἁλῶναι ‘to be dead, slain’) and Anatolian (CLuvian walaunta); the intransitive meaning does not speak against the reconstruction of a factitive bahuvrīhi compound ‘the one, who provides death with defeat’. The new etymology provides a phonological explanation for the notorious variation /l/ ~ /ll/ in the epics, on which, it is argued, the variation /s/ ~ /ss/ in the name of Odysseus was modeled. Even though the name of Achilles was likely understood by the Greeks themselves as ‘bringing ἄχος to his host of men’ throughout the 1st milennium BCE. and potentially even earlier than that, the myth about a hero who overcomes death glimpses in the epic narrative, for instance, in the story of Thetis’ attempts to endow her offspring with immortality by putting him into the hearth and anointing his body with ambrosia (Schol. D ad Il. 16.36). It is not unreasonable to speculate that the archaic myth about an immortal hero was remastered for the purposes of heroic epic and Achilles' name (which was no longer transparent for the poets) was accordingly reinterpreted, similarly to how the name of Tristan was “etymologized” in the 12th century based on its similarity to Old French triste ‘heartsore’ (Tristan was "born in the afflictions of grief"); or the name of the foremost hero of the Irish saga, Chuchulainn, was provided with an explicit account of how young Sétanta got his name by killing the dog (Cú) of Culann the smith. Neither legend was present in respective archetypal mythological narratives. Similarly, the name of Achilles potentially preserves a precious fragment of an archaic myth of a hero who defeats the death.
Nikolaev, A., In Press. Homeric ἀάατος: etymology and poetics. Die Sprache.Abstract
nikolaev_homeric_aaatos.pdf
This paper argues that obscure Homeric adjective ἀάατος is related to PIE *séh2u̯l̥, gen. sg. *sh2u̯éns ‘sun’ and goes back to a proto-form *ahāu̯ato- < *n̥seh2u̯n̥to- ‘not having sun’: the juncture ἀάατον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ (Ξ 271) can now be understood as ‘the sunless water of the Styx’. In the post-Homeric period this epithet underwent a formal renewal and is indirectly continued by ἀνάλιος / ἀνήλιος in tragedy (e.g. ἀνάλιον χέρσον (scil. of the Underworld) A. Th. 859). Under this analysis ἀάατο- < *ahāu̯ato- is best seen as an Aeolic element in the Homeric diction (which would also explain the absence of spiritus asper). While it is possible that *(a)hāu̯a to- ‘(not) having sun’ is a Proto-Greek coinage, formed from *hāu̯əl, oblique stem *hāu̯a(t)-, an expectable remodeling product of heteroclitic *séh2u̯l̥, *sh2u̯éns on the way to Greek, such athematic formation is not attested in Greek. This paper therefore argues for a possessive compound *(n̥-)seh2u̯n̥to- ‘not having sun(light)’ whose second member is a substantive *séh2u̯n̥to- ‘sunlight’ derived from adjectival *sh2un tó- ‘having sun’ by a substantivization process that involved an insertion of a new full-grade in the root in addition to the accent shift. Adj. *sh2un tó- is reflected both by Tocharian B swāñco, A swāñceṃ ‘sunbeam’ and by Proto-Germanic *sunþa ‘south’ ( < *súh2nto-, with a secondary substantivizing accent shift). The poetic status of reconstructed *n̥séh2u̯n̥to- in Indo-European is confirmed by the existence of similar formations derived from the word for ‘sun’ in archaic Indo-Iranian texts. This paper first discusses Vedic asū́rta- (RV X, 82, 4c): asū́rtam rájas- is the Vedic term for the Underworld, exactly matching the description of the Underworld river Styx as ἀάατος (rájas- = Ἔρεβος). Secondly, it is shown that YAvestan axvarəta-, the standing epithet of xvarənah-, can be traced back to a reconstruction *n̥-s(h2)u̯el to- and interpreted as ‘not lit by the sun’, which is exactly true of xvarənah-, concealed in the waters of the sea Vourukasəm (Yt. 19, 51-59). Lastly, no less significant is another YAvestan epithet xvanuuant- ‘sunny’, associated with the heavenly waters (Y. 16, 7) and one’s immortal life: xvahe gaiiehe xvanuuatō aməṣ̌ahe (Y. 9, 1; Yt. 8, 11). Thus, in a number of Indo-European traditions there is a close association between the sun, waters, and immortality. This study of several obscure and archaic epithets from three Indo-European poetic traditions makes it possible to suggest a new interpretation of a difficult Homeric word and reveals a further aspect of Indo-European poetics.