title: Iranian *zganda- ‘mounted messenger’, *zgad- ‘to ride’ and Greek σφαδᾴζω
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Nikolaev, Alexander
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.accessioned
metadata.value: 2022-02-18T16:28:01Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.available
metadata.value: 2022-02-18T16:28:01Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.issued
metadata.value: 2021-12
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.citation
metadata.value: Alexander Nikolaev. Iranian *zganda- ‘mounted messenger’, *zgad- ‘to ride’ and Greek σφαδᾴζω. Philologia Classica 2021, 16 (2), 222–227.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.identifier.other
metadata.value: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu20.2021.204
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.uri
metadata.value: http://hdl.handle.net/11701/35169
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.description.abstract
metadata.value: This article argues that Greek σφαδᾴζω ‘struggle, toss one’s body about’ is etymologically related to Proto-Iranian *zgad- ‘to ride, gallop’ and *zganda- ‘messenger’, the source of loanwords σαγγάνδης and ἀσγάνδης in Greek. Iranian nominal stems *zgandá- ‘rider, mounted messenger’ and *zgánda- ‘riding’ (reflected in Sogdian non-finite forms) suggest the reconstruction of a Proto-Iranian root *zgand-, the zero-grade form of which is found in tudáti-type verbal stem *zgadá-ti ‘rides, gallops’ (*zgad- < *zgn̥ d-). The correspondence between Greek σφ- and Iranian *zg- is unproblematic, since these are regular reflexes of PIE *sgwh- in both languages, compare Younger Avestan zgərəsna- ‘round, circular’ vis-à-vis Greek σφαῖρα ‘sphere, ball, globe’. Importantly, in its earliest attestations Greek σφαδᾴζω is used to refer to horses that are prancing, struggling, and moving violently: the application of the verb to human agony is demonstrably secondary. The Greek verb is best analyzed as a denominative *σφαδαι-ιζω derived from an unattested adjective *σφάδαιος, itself made from a nominal stem *σφάδη or *σφαδή, cf. ματᾴζω ‘speak foolishly’ ← μάταιος ‘foolish’ ← μάτη ‘foolishness’; the underlying unattested noun, whether *σφάδη ‘kicking, tossing’ or *σφαδή ‘kick, toss’, is based on a thematic verbal stem *σφαδε/ο- ‘to kick, toss, move swiftly (of horses)’ identical in origin with Proto-Iranian *zgadá-ti. On the basis of these forms, a new PIE root *sgwhend- / *sgwh ̥n d- ‘to move quickly (of horses)’ can be reconstructed.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.language.iso
metadata.value: en
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.publisher
metadata.value: St Petersburg State University
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.relation.ispartofseries
metadata.value: Philologia Classica;Volume 16; Issue 2
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: etymology
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Ancient Greek language
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Iranian languages
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Avestan
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Khotanese
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Sogdian
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: derivational morphology
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: denominative verb
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.title
metadata.value: Iranian *zganda- ‘mounted messenger’, *zgad- ‘to ride’ and Greek σφαδᾴζω
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.type
metadata.value: Article
metadata.lang: en_GB
resources.filename: 222-227.pdf
resources.url: https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/35169/1/222-227.pdf
resources.format: Adobe PDF
resources.size: 753,32 kB