πτύ̄ω

πτύ̄ω

Grammatical information: v.

Meaning: `to spew, to spit' (Hom.).

Other forms: Aor. πτύ-σαι (Hom.), pass. πτυ-σθῆναι, -ῆναι (Hp.), fut. πτύσ-ω, -ομαι (IA.), perf. ἔπτυκα (late).

Compounds: Often w. prefix, e.g. ἀπο-, ἐκ-, ἐν-.

Derivatives: 1. ἀπό-, κατά-πτυστος `worth to be spat upon, abominable' (Anacr., trag., also Att. prose); 2. πτύσις (ἔκ-, ἔμ-, ἀνά-) f. `the spewing' (Hp., Arist.); 3. πτυσμός m. `id.' (Hp.); 4. πτύσμα (ἔμ-, ἀπό-, κατά-) n. `spittle' (Hp., Plb., LXX); 5. ἀπο-πτυστήρ m. "the spitter" (Opp.); 6. πτυάς, -άδος f. des. of a venomous snake (Gal. a. o.); 7. πτύ-αλον, -ελον n. (-ος m.) `spittle' (Hp., Arist.), from which -αλώδης `spittle-like', -αλίζω, -ελίζω `to secrete spittle' with -αλισμός (-ελ-) m. (Hp.).

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [999] *spi̯(e)uH- `spew, spit'

Etymology: Beside the present πτύ̄-ω with long vowel (Schwyzer 686, Chantraine Gramm. hom. 1, 373) there is the aorist πτῠ́-σαι with short vowel as in ἐρῠ́-σαι, ἀρῠ́-σαι a.o.; after this πτῠ́-σις and with anorganic σ πτύσ-μα, -μός a.o. -- Onomatop. expression, found in several languages in somewhat varying form: Lat. spuō, Germ., e.g. Goth. speiwan, Lith. spiáu-ju, -ti (from *spieuH-?), and in Skt. (niḥ-)ṣṭhī́vati (spiHu̯-? with t-v dissimilated from p-v ); without s- as πτύω: CS pljujǫ, plǰьvati (from *pi̯u-\/pi̯uu̯-?), Arm. t`uk` `spittle' with t`k`-anem `spew, spit'; with diff. sequence of sounds Alb. pshtyj (Mann Lang. 26, 387). Greek πτ- can, if old, agree with Arm. t` ; if for older πι̯- OCS plǰujǫ and Lith. spiáuju can be compared. On the attempts to reduce the deviating forms to one preform, cf. Schwyzer 325 Zus. 3, WP. 2, 683 (Pok. 999f.), W.-Hofmann s. spuō (all w. lit.); further Collinder Ein indoeuropäisches Wohllautgesetz (Uppsala 1943) 9 f., 14. Well-founded objections against assuming a strict base-form for this popular-expressive expression in Persson Beitr. 1, 270 and Ernout-Meillet s. spuō. -- Greek too presents several variants: ἀπο-, ἐκ-πῡ-τίζω (Hp., com., Arist.; simplex πυτιζω only EM), prob. expressively enlarged with dissimilation (Lat. LW [loanword] pytissāre, cf. Leumann Kl. Schr. 159 w. n.1); Dor. ἐπι-φθύσδω = ἐπιπτύω (Theoc.); ψύττει πτύει and σίαι πτύσαι. Πάφιοι H. with σίαλον (s.d.).

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