θάνατος: Difference between revisions

{{etym

|etymtx=Grammatical information: m.<br />Meaning: [[death]] (Il.).<br />Compounds: Compp., e. g. <b class="b3">ἀ-θάνατος</b> [[immortal]] (Il.), <b class="b3">θανατη-φόρος</b> <b class="b2">death-bringing</b> (A. ; <b class="b3">-η-</b> rhythmic and analog. conditioned, Schwyzer 438f.).<br />Derivatives: Adj.: <b class="b3">θανάσιμος</b> <b class="b2">bringing death, going to die</b> (IA; on the formation Arbenz Die Adj. auf <b class="b3">-ιμος</b> 17 and 70f.; rarely <b class="b3">θανατήσιμος</b>, Arbenz 78f.); also <b class="b3">θανατώδης</b> (Hp.), <b class="b3">θανατόεις</b> (S., E.), <b class="b3">θανατήσιος</b> (Afric.; after <b class="b3">βιοτήσιος</b>, <b class="b3">βροτήσιος</b>), <b class="b3">θανατικός</b> (D. S., Plu.), <b class="b3">θανατηρός</b> (Eust.); <b class="b3">θανατούσια</b> (sc. <b class="b3">ἱερά</b>) pl. <b class="b2">feast for the dead</b> (Luc.; after <b class="b3">γερούσιος</b>). Denomin. verbs: 1. <b class="b3">θανατόω</b> <b class="b2">kill, bring to death, sentence to death</b> (IA) with <b class="b3">θανάτωσις</b>; 2. <b class="b3">θανατάω</b> <b class="b2">like to die</b>, also <b class="b2">be dying</b> (Pl.); 3. <b class="b3">θανατιάω</b> <b class="b2">id.</b> (Luc.). - The old perfect <b class="b3">τέθνηκα</b> <b class="b2">am dead</b>, pl. <b class="b3">τέθναμεν</b>, ptc. <b class="b3">τεθνηώς</b>, <b class="b3">τεθνεώς</b>, Aeol. inf. <b class="b3">τεθνάκην</b>, with the thematic root aorist <b class="b3">ἔθανον</b> <b class="b2">I died</b> (Il.), the fut. <b class="b3">θανοῦμαι</b> (Il.) and an added present <b class="b3">θνηισκω</b> (inscr.), <b class="b3">θνήσκω</b> (mss.), Aeol. <b class="b3">θναισκω</b> (Hdn. Gr. 2, 79); in prose mostly <b class="b3">ἀπο-θνῄσκω</b>; also with other prefixes, e. g. <b class="b3">κατα-θνῄσκω</b>, <b class="b3">-θανεῖν</b>, <b class="b3">-τέθνηκα</b> (all Il.); on the function of the prefix Schwyzer-Debrunner 268f., Hermann Gött. Nachr. 1943, 617f. Verbal adj. <b class="b3">θνητός</b> [[mortal]] (Il.). - From there <b class="b3">θνήσιμος</b> (only Arg. to S. OT 7) with <b class="b3">θνησιμαῖον</b> [[cadaver]] (LXX; Chantraine Formation 49, Mélanges Maspéro 221); in the same meaning also <b class="b3">θνασίδιον</b>, <b class="b3">θνησ(ε)ίδιον</b> (Lesbos, Ael.; Schwyzer 270). Verbalsubst. <b class="b3">θνῆσις</b> [[dying]], [[mortality]] (medic.); on <b class="b3">εὑθνήσιμος</b> <b class="b2">preparing a soft death</b> (A. Ag. 1294) from <b class="b3">εὖ θνῄσκειν</b>; cf. <b class="b3">εὑθάνατος</b>, <b class="b3">-τέω</b>, <b class="b3">-σία</b>; diff., hardly correct, Arbenz 78 u. 84.<br />Origin: IE [Indo-European] [266] <b class="b2">*dʰ(u)enh₂-</b> [[die]]<br />Etymology: The form <b class="b3">θαν-</b> (<b class="b3">εῖν</b>) and <b class="b3">θάνα-(τος</b>) <b class="b3">θνα-(τός</b>) point to a form <b class="b2">*dhnh₂-</b>, <b class="b2">*dhnh₂-</b>e- beside <b class="b2">*dhnh₂-</b> before consonant. The comparison with Skt. aorist <b class="b2">á-dhvanī-t</b> <b class="b2">he disappeared</b> and the ptc. <b class="b2">dhvān-tá-</b> [[dark]] led to the reconstruction IE <b class="b2">dhu̯enǝ-</b>; the meaning [[die]] stems from a euphemism, cf. Chantraine Sprache 1, 146. See Pok. 266. But the <b class="b2">-u̯-</b> is not quite certain.

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