Reconstruction:Ancient Greek/-ϳω

See also: -ιω, -jω, and -jo
This Ancient Greek entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *-yō, from Proto-Indo-European *-yoh₂. Cognates include Proto-Germanic *-janą and Sanskrit -यति (-yati). See progressive aspect marker.

Suffix

*-ϳω • (*-jō)

  1. builds a verb stem either from a root or from a nominal. Both the reflex of ϳ and the thematicization, which together constitute this suffix, are omitted in the aorist and perfect stem

Inflection

When the stem ends in ε or σ, e.g. τέλος (télos)τελέω (teléō):

When the stem ends in ο, e.g. ἄξιος (áxios)ἀξιόω (axióō):

When the stem ends in a labial stop (β π φ), e.g. κρυφ- (kruph-)κρύπτω (krúptō):

When the stem ends in an unvoiced or aspirated velar or dental stop (κ χ τ θ), e.g. φύλαξ (phúlax)φυλάσσω (phulássō), or sometimes when it ends in γ, e.g. ταγ- (tag-)τάττω (táttō) and σφαγ- (sphag-)σφάττω (spháttō), but note its variant σφάζω (spházō) (see below)

When the stem ends in the voiced velar or dental stop (γ δ), e.g. ἐλπίς (elpís)ἐλπίζω (elpízō):

When the stem ends in λ:

When the stem ends in μ ν ρ, ϳ surfaces as ι in front of the consonant (metathesis), e.g. μέλᾱς (mélās, stem: μελᾰν-)μελαίνω (melaínō):

The same happens when the stem historically ends in digamma (ϝ), however, since ϝ is lost, only ι remains, e.g. κλαϝ- (klaw-)κλαίω (klaíō)