δέχομαι
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Δάκτυλοι. οἷον δράκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δρᾶσαι· ἢ δέκτιλοι τινὲς εἰσὶν, δεκτικοὶ, ὄντες τῶν διδομένων· ἢ δείκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὴν δεῖξιν.
Translation (En)
Daktuloi "fingers", *draktuloi, as it were, from drasai "to act"; or *dektiloi, so to speak, for they receive (dektikoi) what is given; or *deiktuloi, from the fact that we show (deixin) things with them
Parallels
Meletius, De natura hominis, p. 121 (Οἱ δὲ δάκτυλοι δράκτυλοί τινες εἰσὶ, παρὰ τὸ δράττεσθαι· ἢ δέκτυλοι, δεκτικοὶ ὄντες τῶν διδομένων· ἢ δείκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὰς δείξεις); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, delta, p. 332 (Δάκτυλοι· <οἷον δράκτυλοι>, παρὰ τὸ δράττεσθαι· ἢ δέκτυλοι, δεκτικοὶ ὄντες· ἢ δείκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὴν δεῖξιν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 256 (Δάκτυλος: Παρὰ τὸ δράσσω, δράκτυλος τὶς ὤν· παρὰ γὰρ τὸ δράσσεσθαι. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέχω, δέξω, δέδεχα, δέδεγμαι, δέδεκται, δέκτυλος, καὶ δάκτυλος· καὶ δάκτυλοι, οἱ δεκτικοὶ ὄντες τῶν διδομένων. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δείκω, τὸ δεικνύω, δείκτυλοι, καὶ δάκτυλοι· δι’ αὐτῶν γὰρ ἡ δεῖξις γίνεται); Etym. Symeonis, delta 27 (Δάκτυλος· παρὰ τὸ δράσσω δράκτυλος καὶ δάκτυλος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέχω δέξω δέδεχα δέδεγμαι δέδεκται, δέκτυλος καὶ δάκτυλος· οἱ ὄντες δεκτικοὶ τῶν διδομένων. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δείκω, τὸ δεικνύω, δείκτυλοι καὶ δάκτυλοι· δι’ αὐτῶν γὰρ ἡ δεῖξις γίνεται); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, delta, p. 464 (idem, save for the beginning (Παρὰ τὸ δράσσω, δράκτυλος τὶς ὤν· ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέχω)
Comment
Derivational etymology. One of the functions of the fingers is to take, therefore to receive (δέχομαι). This implies a change of the vowel, *δέκτυλος > δάκτυλος. As there are many such cases for roots with /r/ (δέρκομαι / ἔδρακον, τρέπω / ἔτραπον), this change was familiar to Greek scholars—they did not notice that it only occurred next to /r/ and /l/ and extended this alternation to other contexts