DOI: 10.30842/alp23065737181165186
The paper is dedicated to the etymologies of Greek and Latin adjectives with the meaning 'calm', ἥσυχος and tranquillus. Greek adj. ἥσυχος 'calm, quiet, peaceful' may be a derivative with the suffix -χο- of a deverbal abstract noun *hāsu- < *seh₂tu- 'satisfaction'.

The suffix -χο-, which originally had a diminutive meaning, could express a positive connotation for this adjective. This allows regarding the Homeric use of ἥσυχος in the meaning of 'peaceful' as secondary. The comparison to other uses of this adjective in the ancient Greek literature allows to trace how the semantics of the adjective developed from the original meaning 'satiated, satisfied' to 'contented, calm, gentle, quiet', which became the main one in Classical Greek. A similar development of semantics is reflected in the notion of the god of war Ares as 'insatiable' (Il. 5, 388 Ἄρης ἆτος πολέμοιο) and has a parallel in Lat. satur (cf. satur fu, fere Mars in the Latin Carmen Arvale).

Lat. adj. tranquillus, the usage of which is comparable to that of ἥσυχος, can be derived from *ku̯ih₁lo- (also found in Germanic languages, cf. *hʷīla- 'rest; interval of time'). The reconstructed adjective *quīlos was probably regularly used in the construction 'sail (across) the calm sea', (trans) *quillum (mare). After the loss of the simplex *quillo-, the syntagm was univerbated into tranquillum which was interpretable as an adverb 'calm(ly)': tranquillum 'across the calm sea' and tranquillo 'in a calm sea'. The reinterpretation of these forms as adverbs, especially the use of tranquillum in the function of accusativus adverbialis, gave rise to the corresponding adjective tranquillus.

Authors:

Kölligan Daniel͏
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (Würzburg, Germany)
daniel.koelligan@uni-wuerzburg.de

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