δέω

Validation

Yes

Word-form

δεύειν

Transliteration (Word)

deuō

English translation (word)

to wet, to drench

Transliteration (Etymon)

deō

English translation (etymon)

to need, miss

Author

Etym. Magnum

Century

12 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 258

Ed.

T. Gaisford, Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1848

Quotation

(καταδεύῃ) Εἴρηται παρὰ τὸν Δία, (ὑέτιος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θεός·) κυρίως γὰρ τὸ ὑπὸ Διὸς ὕεσθαι, (ὅ ἐστι βρέχεσθαι,) διεύω, καὶ δεύω. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέω, τὸ χρῄζω, πλεονασμῷ τοῦ υ, τὸ δεόμενον βρέχεσθαι

Translation (En)

(katadeuēi) It gets its name from Zeus (because the god is the cause of rain), it means properly to be soaked by rain (huesthai), that is, to be wet by rain (brekhesthai) by Zeus (hypo Dios): *dieuō and deuō ("to wet"). Or it comes from deō ("I need"), through addition of [u], that which needs rain

Comment

This etymology is simple from the formal point of view and implies only one formal manipulation, the addition of a phoneme. As a matter of fact, δεύω "to need, to miss" is the epic variant of δέω (as χεύω is the epic variant of χέω), so that this δεύω "to need" was homophonous with δεύω "to wet". Deriving the one from the other implies starting from the passive form δεύομαι "to be wet", not from the active form, and this can be assimilated to an etymology a contrario: the earth needs what it does not have, rain. However, this point was not taken into account by Greek etymologists, who generally speaking take the active form as the default form

Parallels

Etym. Symeonis, delta 152 (Κυρίως γὰρ τὸ ὑπὸ Διὸς ὕεσθαι, ὅ ἐστι βρέχεσθαι, διεύω καὶ δεύω· ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέω τὸ χρήζω)

Modern etymology

Unknown

Persistence in Modern Greek

Modern Greek has the hellenistic "αναδεύω" ('to soak'), designating 1. 'to mix liquids', 2. 'to shake liquids slightly'. There also is "αναδευτήρας/αναδευτήρι" (a tool for ανάδευση).

Entry By

Le Feuvre