Compensatory Lengthening - Greek

Greek

Compensatory lengthening is very common in Greek. It is particularly notable in forms where n or nt comes together with s, y (= ι̯), or i. The development of nt + y was perhaps thus:

  • *mont-yă → montsa (palatalization ty → ts) → mõtsa (nasalization and vowel lengthening) → mõssa → mõsa (shortening ss → s) → mōsa (denasalization, retention of long vowel) = μοῦσα "muse"

Forms with this type of compensatory lengthening include the nominative singular and dative plural of many participles, adjectives, and nouns, the 3rd person plural ending for present and future active of all verbs, and the 3rd person singular present of athematic verbs:

  • *πάντ-ς → πᾶς "every, whole" (masculine nominative singular)
  • *πάντ-ι̯ᾰ → *πάντσα → πᾶσα (feminine)
  • *πάντ-σι → πᾶσι (masculine/neuter dative plural)
  • compare παντ-ός (m./n. genitive singular)
  • *όντ-ι̯ᾰ → *όντσα → οὖσα participle "being" (feminine nominative singular)
  • *οντ-ίᾱ → *ονσία → οὐσία "property, essence"
  • compare ὀντ-ός (m./n. genitive singular, from participle ὤν "being",)
  • Doric ἄγ-ο-ντι → ἄγοντσι → Attic/Ionic ἄγουσι "they drive"
  • Doric τί-θε-ντι → *τίθεντσι → Attic/Ionic τίθεισι "he/she places"

Read more about this topic:  Compensatory Lengthening

Famous quotes containing the word greek:

    “With astonishment Aschenbach noticed that the boy was entirely beautiful. His countenance, pale and gracefully reserved, was surrounded by ringlets of honey-colored hair, and with its straight nose, its enchanting mouth, its expression of sweet and divine gravity, it recalled Greek sculpture of the noblest period.”
    —Thomas Mann (1875–1955)

    “I lately met with an old volume from a London bookshop, containing the Greek Minor Poets, and it was a pleasure to read once more only the words Orpheus, Linus, Musæus,—those faint poetic sounds and echoes of a name, dying away on the ears of us modern men; and those hardly more substantial sounds, Mimnermus, Ibycus, Alcæus, Stesichorus, Menander. They lived not in vain. We can converse with these bodiless fames without reserve or personality.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “Make room, Roman writers, make room for Greek writers; something greater than the Iliad is born.”
    —Propertius Sextus (c. 50–16 B.C.)