ἐρωτάω

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Ancient Greek

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Related to ἐρεείνω (ereeínō, to ask), ἔρομαι (éromai, to ask) (which it replaced in Attic), ἐρευνάω (ereunáō, to search, inquire), of uncertain origin.[1] The hypothetical reconstructed root, Proto-Indo-European *h₁rew- (to search, inquire), appears to be related to Icelandic raun (trial, test)[2] and Old Armenian որոնեմ (oronem, to seek, search for) (though there exist phonetic issues with the Armenian).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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ἐρωτᾰ́ω (erōtáō)

  1. to ask
    1. to ask about a thing
    2. (followed by a relative word)
  2. to question
    1. (in dialectic argument) to elicit conclusions from the opponent by means of questioning
  3. (Koine) to beg, entreat, solicit

Usage notes

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In the dialogues of Plato, ἠρόμην (ērómēn) typically supplies the aorist tense-forms for ἐρωτάω.[3]

Inflection

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  • The future and aorist forms of ἔρομαι (éromai) often supply those tenses of this verb.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Byzantine Greek: (ἐ)ρωτῶ ((e)rōtô)

References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἐρωτάω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 469
  2. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἐρευνάω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 455-6
  3. ^ pp. 44-47, section 16.2. Albert Rijksbaron. The Syntax and Semantics of the Verb in Classical Greek. University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Further reading

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