ἐπίστασθαι 

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cwconrad
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ἐπίστασθαι 

Post by cwconrad »

cwconrad wrote:
Stephen Hughes wrote:Within that analysis διδαχή seems different. How is the chi a formative unit in διδαχή in Breekes's analysis?
What's odd here is the persistence of boththe δι- reduplication throughout the entire conjugation of the verb and the guttural -κ/γ/χ- with the δα- root. Chantraine's older etymological dictionary (1970) is in agreement with Beekes' account and points to an article by Debrunner on the matter that might be interesting to look at: it's in a volume entitled Mélanges Boisac 1, 251-256. Suggestions of linkage with Latin docere and discere (di-dc-sc-) don't seem to be convincing.
[Rather than piggy-back onto the discussion of διδάσκειν -- which probably belongs in this sub-forum rather than in "Other" --, I'll start a new one.]
I sometimes wonder whether there are any Greek verbs that are not idiomatic. I love what Lewis Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty says about verbs: “ 'They've a temper, some of them — particularly verbs: they're the proudest — adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs …”

We’ve been talking about the verb διδάσκειν, in particular about the fact that, although it appears to form a present stem (from an old and rare root (δα) according to standard patterns (iota reduplication and the -σκ- iterative/inchoative formative element), it extends that present stem as a root that appears throughout the verb’s entire paradigm: διδάσκειν, διδάξειν, διδάξαι, δεδίδαχα, δεδιδάχθαι, διδαχθῆναι — and there’s a whole range of middle-passive forms as well, not to mention derivative adjectives and nouns such as διδαχή, διδάσκαλος, κλτ.

ἐπίστασθαι is another verb that would seem to be originally compounded; it came into use very early as a fixed compound that never formed a reduplicated present stem (it’s ἐπι-στα, not ἐφιστα < ἐπ(ι) ἵστασθαι < ἐπι + σίστασθαι); rather it’s compounded of the adverbial prefix ἐπῖ and the root στη/α directly with a meaning, evidently, something like “hold a solidly-grounded assurance of truth”. It takes the temporal augment (ἐπιστα- > ἠπιστα-) rather than a temporal augment on the root (*εφ-ε-στη/α-). I don’t have access to Beekes, but Chantraine (1970) notes that there is already in Homer a distinction between ἐπίστασθαι and ἐφιστάναι, and he notes the suggestion that the unaspirated π might indicate Ionic origin of the compound from the reduplicated root as ἐπ-ίστασθαι; even so, however, the combination ἐπιστα- functions as a root form for the entire conjugation of this verb.
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
Stephen Carlson
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Re: ἐπίστασθαι 

Post by Stephen Carlson »

cwconrad wrote:ἐπίστασθαι is another verb that would seem to be originally compounded; it came into use very early as a fixed compound that never formed a reduplicated present stem (it’s ἐπι-στα, not ἐφιστα < ἐπ(ι) ἵστασθαι < ἐπι + σίστασθαι); rather it’s compounded of the adverbial prefix ἐπῖ and the root στη/α directly with a meaning, evidently, something like “hold a solidly-grounded assurance of truth”. It takes the temporal augment (ἐπιστα- > ἠπιστα-) rather than a temporal augment on the root (*εφ-ε-στη/α-). I don’t have access to Beekes, but Chantraine (1970) notes that there is already in Homer a distinction between ἐπίστασθαι and ἐφιστάναι, and he notes the suggestion that the unaspirated π might indicate Ionic origin of the compound from the reduplicated root as ἐπ-ίστασθαι; even so, however, the combination ἐπιστα- functions as a root form for the entire conjugation of this verb.
Beekes often follows Chantraine (except when the etymon appears to be from a non-Indo-European pre-Greek language), and his comments largely echo yours, except for the speculation about Ionic origins:
Beekes 2010:445 wrote:επίσταμαι ... From *ἐπι-hίσταμαι with early loss of the breath and vowel contraction (hyphaeresis). Through the semantic development *'stand before something' > 'be confronted with sth., take knowledge of sth.'; likewise, OHG firstan, OE forstandan. The word ἐπίσταμαι was also formally separated from ἵσταμαι, which already in Homer had lead to a new verb ἐφ-ἰσταμαι 'stand at'. Acc. to others, it is an old fo[r]mation without reduplication (litt. in Schwyzer: 675^2); acc. to Brugmann-Delbrück 1897-1916 2:3, 160, it is a recent formation from an aorist ἐπι-στάμενος, -σταίμην.
I would give a Koine example that the differing placements of the augment for προφητεύω is an indication of the differing extents to which this verb was felt to be a compound.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
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