Ancient Greek

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Etymology

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Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kū-. According to Beekes, the word is not Indo-European and, thus, probably Pre-Greek. It has been assumed that the verb has intensive reduplication, by comparison with Sanskrit कौति (kauti, to cry, moan), but these are only attested in grammarians.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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κωκῡ́ω (kōkū́ō)

  1. (especially of women) to shriek, wail
    Synonyms: θρέομαι (thréomai), ὀδῡ́ρομαι (odū́romai)
    • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 24.703:
      κώκυσέν τ’ ἄρ’ ἔπειτα γέγωνέ τε πᾶν κατὰ ἄστυ·
      kṓkusén t’ ár’ épeita gégōné te pân katà ástu;
      Thereupon, she shrieked and cried all through the city:
  2. to lament or shriek over one dead

Inflection

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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