Paper

From s-Stems to -εσι-Compounds: Morphosemantic Constraints on Analogical Change in Ancient Greek

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Abstract

In Ancient Greek, verbal first compound members in -εσι- derive regularly from verbs with aorists in -εσ- (e.g., ἐτέλεσα ⇒ τελεσι-). From this context, the sequence -εσι- is reanalyzed as a linking element and extended to verbs without an aorist in -εσ- (e.g., πηγεσι- vs. aor. ἔπηξα). Previous analyses of this analogical extension have proved empirically inadequate. I reconstruct a process, active in Homeric Greek and parallel to the deverbative formation of verbal second members in -ής (Meissner 2006:186–96), which produces verbal first members in -εσι- by analogy with the compositional forms of s-stems (-τειχής : τειχεσι- :: -τελής : τελεσι-). The process starts with denominative verbs from neuter s-stems, which also produce second members in -ής. As these are reanalyzed as deverbative, a verbal first member in -εσι- is also created and specialized for transitive meanings. The new derivational rule spreads according to strictly defined patterns of proportional analogy to verbs without a connection to s-stems, but with verbal second members in -ής. Once the new subclass of τερψίμβροτος compounds in -εσι- is created, it patterns with the class of φερέοικος compounds in -ε- and provides the -ε- verbal first members with an -εσι- counterpart. While the analogical process ceases to be productive already in Homer, compounds in -εσι- remain in the lexicon of poetry and onomastics as archaisms.

Keywords: Greek, Derivation, analogy, deverbative, verbal compound member, s-stem, Poetry, onomastics, archaic

How to Cite:

Migliaretti, E., (2026) “From s-Stems to -εσι-Compounds: Morphosemantic Constraints on Analogical Change in Ancient Greek”, Proceedings of the Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference 35(1): 7, 125-145. doi: https://doi.org/10.5070/J5.62153