Ancient Greek

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

    From Proto-Hellenic *tʰrépʰō with deaspiration of the /tʰ/ to /t/ by Grassmann's law everywhere except in forms where the /pʰ/ has been deaspirated to /p/ by a following consonant (future, first aorist, perfect middle). Further origin is disputed:[1] Compare θρόμβος (thrómbos, lump, clot, curd of milk).

    According to Beekes, a Pre-Greek substratum word, with the original concrete meaning apparently being something along the lines of “to congeal or curdle milk”, whence “to make grow, promote growth”. Within Indo-European, it is traditionally compared to Lithuanian dri̇̀bti (to fall down in flakes) and drė̃bti (to throw a thick fluid), Latvian drēbt (to sleet (of damp snow falling)).

    The Greek term additionally bears resemblance to expressions for “dregs” in Celtic (cf. Middle Irish drab (dregs, yeast)), Germanic (Proto-Germanic *drabaz (dregs)), and Slavic (Proto-Slavic *droba (crumb, sediment, dregs, yeast)), linking it to Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ-, whence also Lithuanian drebėti (to quiver, to tremble). It is possible that all these terms derive from the same substrate continuum. Compare also Proto-Germanic *drupô (drop), commonly connected to Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewb- (to crumble, grind).

    Pronunciation

    edit
     

    Verb

    edit

    τρέφω (tréphō)

    1. to make to grow, to increase, bring up, breed, rear (especially of children)
      1. (of slaves, cattle, etc.) to rear and keep, raise
      2. to tend, cherish
      3. (of parts of the body) to let grown, cherish, foster
      4. (poetic, of earth and sea) to breed, produce, teem with
      5. (poetic) to have within oneself, to contain, keep, have
    2. to maintain, support
      1. (in historical writers) to maintain an army
      2. (of land) to feed, maintain one
    3. to bring up, rear, educate
    4. to thicken, congeal, curdle

    Inflection

    edit

    Derived terms

    edit

    References

    edit
    1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “τρέφω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1504ff-1506

    Further reading

    edit

    Greek

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Inherited from Ancient Greek τρέφω (tréphō), probably from Proto-Hellenic *tʰrépʰō.

    Pronunciation

    edit
    • IPA(key): /ˈtɾe.fo/
    • Hyphenation: τρέ‧φω

    Verb

    edit

    τρέφω (tréfo) (past έθρεψα, passive τρέφομαι, p‑past τράφηκα, ppp θρεμμένος)

    1. (transitive) to feed, nourish, maintain
    2. (intransitive) to heal, be raised

    Conjugation

    edit

    Synonyms

    edit
    edit
    compounds of the verb