μάχομαι

μάχομαι

Grammatical information: v.

Meaning: `do battle' (Il.).

Other forms: ep. also μαχέομαι (μαχειόμενος, μαχεούμενον metr. lengthening), aor. μαχέσ(σ)ασθαι (Il.), μαχήσασθαι (D. S., Paus.), μαχεσθῆναι (Plu., Paus.), fut. μαχήσομαι (ep. Ion.), μαχέσ(σ)ομαι (Ion. a. late), μαχέομαι (Β 366), μαχοῦμαι (Att.; μαχεῖται Υ 26), perf. μεμάχημαι (Att.),

Compounds: Often with prefix, e.g. δια-, συν-, ἀπο- (on ἀμφι μάχομαι Bolling AmJPh 81, 77ff.). As s. member in synthetic paroxytona like μονο-μάχ-ος `battling alone' (A., E.), m. `gladiator' (Str.), with μονομαχ-έω, -ία etc., ναυ-μάχ-ος `battling on sea' (AP; but ναύ-μαχος from μάχη, s. below).

Derivatives: μάχη `battle' (Il.; on the meaning etc. Porzig Satzinhalte 233, Trümpy Fachausdrücke 135 f.); as 2. member e.g. in ἄ-, πρό-, σύμ-, ναύ-, ἱππό-μαχος with derivv. like προμαχ-ίζω, συμμαχ-έω, ναυμαχ-έω, -ία. Derivv. 1. μαχη-τής m. `battler' (Hom., LXX), Dor. μαχατάς (P.; H. μαχάταρ ἀντίπαλος), Aeol. μαχαίτας (Alk. Z 27, 5; hyperaeol.?), also derived from μάχομαι; Trümpy 128. 2. μάχ-ιμος `warlike, soldier of an Egyptian tribe' (IA.; after ἄλκιμος, Arbenz 42) with μαχιμικός `after the μάχιμοι' (pap.). 3. Μαχάων m. PN (Aeol. ep.), Ion. -έων, with Dor. Μαχαν-ίδας (Fraenkel Nom. ag. 1, 207f., v. Wilamowitz Glaube 2, 228). -- From μάχομαι also μαχ-ήμων `martial' (Μ 247, AP) and μαχ-ητός `controllable' (μ 119; Ammann Μνήμης χάριν 1, 14), ἀ-, περι-μάχ-ητος (Att.), μαχ-ητικός `prepared to fight' (Pl., Arist.; Chantraine Études 137); cf. μαχ-ήσομαι, με-μάχ-ημαι and Fraenkel 2, 79. -- Can be connected both with the noun as with the verb: -μάχᾱς, e.g. ἀπειρο-μάχᾱς `unexperienced in battle' (Pi.), λεοντο-μάχᾱς `fighting with a lion' (Theoc.); cf. Schwyzer 451.

Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin](X)

Etymology: Beside the thematic root-present μάχομαι there is the isolated by-form μαχέομαι, prob. rather after μαχήσομαι (cf. below) than as denominative of μάχη (cf. Schwyzer 721 and Chantraine Gramm. hom. 1, 351). With μαχήσομαι : ἐμαχό-μην compare cases like ἀπ-εχθήσομαι : ἀπ-εχθόμην, μαθήσομαι : ἔμαθον, γενήσομαι : ἐγενόμην (Schwyzer 782). One is therefore prepared to see in ἐμαχόμην (to which μάχομαι was made) an original aorist, with which would agree, that the aorist in Hom. "auffallend selten gebraucht ist" (Trümpy Fachausdrücke 260 n. 333). When μαχεσθαι was reinterpreted as present a new aorist (after κοτέσσασθαι a. o.) μαχέσ-(σ)ασθαι would have arisen. After the type τελέσ(σ)αι: fut. τελῶ arose to μαχέσ(σ)ασθαι the new fut. μαχοῦμαι. -- In the field of fighting and battle old inherited expressions are hardly to be expected. The connection with a supposed Iran. PN *ha-mazan- prop. *"warrior" in Άμαζών (s. v.), with which also ἁμαζακάραν πολεμεῖν. Πέρσαι, ἁμαζανίδες αἱ μηλέαι H. is as original as uncertain. Within Greek it is formally possible, to connect μάχομαι with μάχαιρα and further with μῆχαρ, μηχανή (Fick BB 26, 230), which Chantr. rightly calls improbable; cf. esp. χειρο-μάχα f. (scil. ἑταιρεία) name of the workers party in Miletos after Plu. 2, 298 c; new attempt, to find a semantic basis for the connection in Trümpy 127 f. Diff. proposals in Bq and W.-Hofmann s. mactus, mactō. - The isolated root will rather be Pre-Greek.

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