3 ms·

For the Greeks, it even had an intelligible meaning https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%80%CE%BB%CE%AD%CE%BE%CF%89#Ancient_Greek https://en.wiktionary.org/wi

by schoen 5y ago

For the Greeks, it even had an intelligible meaning https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%80%CE%BB%CE%AD%CE%BE%CF%89#Ancient_Greek https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%80%CE%BB%CE%AD%CE%BE%C... I think the a- in the al- in Alexander is supposed to be the alpha privative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_privative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_privative like our "ward off" or something.

YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
I don't know if that's right. It could be but it sounds wrong in that I've never heard of "έξω", on its own, without the possible privative, at least not as a verb (there is a modern noun "έξω" meaning "out"). Also, wikipedia says this about alpha privative: >> It is derived from a Proto-Indo-European syllabic nasal n̥-, the zero ablaut grade of the negation ne, i.e. /n/ used as a vowel. But the wiktionary article says this about αλέξω: From Proto-Hellenic aléksō (“to protect”), from Proto-Indo-European h₂lek- (“to defend”) (...) Note the difference between "n̥" and "h₂". I don't even know what those are, but they seem different enough that they may be ... different?