τρέφω

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Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

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 drìbti (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

 

Verb

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

Derived terms

References

  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

Greek

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Verb

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

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

Conjugation

Synonyms

(compounds of the verb):