[B-Greek] PETESQAI flying
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Fri Sep 25 16:27:01 EDT 2009
On Sep 25, 2009, at 4:20 PM, Randall Buth wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 10:44 PM, Carl Conrad <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> On Sep 25, 2009, at 3:20 PM, Randall Buth wrote:
>>
>>> Some maybe good news
>>> Part two of Volume Two was published in 1920, so the verb PDFs may
>>> be public domain by all counts.
>>>
>>>
>>> As mentioned, Howard is a nice start, but when wants to say
>>> 'I flew'
>>> or
>>> 'I will fly'
>>> the verb will not be listed, even though highly irregular, because
>>> only
>>> the regular PETOMAI (present) is in the NT.
>>>
>>> Job 20:8 has EPTH for 'he flew'.
>>>
>>> but the Thomas Infancy Gospel has PETΑSQENTA as an
>>> aorist participle, which shows a different formation for this verb.
>>> Thomas Infancy would produce EPETΑSQH 'he flew', and
>>> Attic Greek also attested EPTATO.
>>> And the Sybil even has IPTATO (>IPTAMAI present)
>>>
>>> Which is why one needs to check things out.
>>> We can conclude that flying was irregular before the advent of
>>> airplanes.
>>
>> But this also nicely illustrates a prevailing tendency in
>> linguistic change
>> in Hellenistic Greek:
>> The older MP forms of PETOMAI in the aorist, whether the athematic
>> EPTH and
>> EPTATO, tend to take QH forms later, while still bearing a "middle"
>> semanatic value (intransitive verbs of motion tend to be middle).
>> Surely
>> nobody would try to associate a passive meaning with PETASQHNAI.
>>
>> Carl W. Conrad
>> Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
>>
>
> I'm in full agreement on the direction of change.
>
> My only question is which form I want in my own ideolect. I currently
> use the old EPTHN 'I flew', with canonical/LXX backing to boot.
> If I went to EPETASQHN I would probably want to switch to
> PETHSOMAI (PETASOMAI?) instead of my current PTHSOMAI.
> And I feel comfortable that Luke and Epiktetos would understand me,
> either way.
> Still, it would be nice to know a little more about 1st century usage.
>
> I don't have Gignac to check, or TLG.
> Can anyone check out aorist and future PETESQAI between
> Polybius and Galen (skipping ARGONAYTIKA of course)?
I would guess that PTHNAI and PETASQHNAI would both be current
somewhere in the NT era -- but that Atticism would impaat the usage of
school-taught writers.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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