Nikolaev the Story of Dicere

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The Story of Latin dcere

Alexander [email protected]

0. According to a widespread view (notably set forth in Benveniste 1969: 107109), the root

*de - originally meant to show, to point out and secondarily developed the meaningto speak in Italic (Lat.d cere , Osc. dekum to say, Umbr.deitu announce).Benveniste argued that the use of *de - in the legal language played a decisive role inthis process (cf. *medes-di - > Osc.medds (s) judge and * e es-di - > Lat.idex id.).Germanic cognates seem to support Benvenistes view (Mod.German zeihen to accuse).The purpose of this paper is to offer an alternative to the current orthodoxy, based onsome hitherto unnoticed peculiar uses of *de - in several poetic traditions as well assome new etymologies.

1. Preliminaries: the meaning of Latin dcere

The verbd c is not quite synonymous withloquor speak, talk; rather,d c generally belongs to the solemn language of poetry and oratory where it becomes closely alliedwithcan . Cic.Orat. 32

quamquam aliud videtur oratio esse aliud disputatio, nec idem loqui essequod dicere , ac tamen utrumque in disserendo est: disputandi ratio et loquendidialecticorum sit, oratorum autem dicendi et ornandi.Although a speech is one thing and a debate another, and disputing is not thesame as speaking, and yet both are concerned with discourse debate and disputeare the function of the logicians; the orators function is to speak ornately.*

Catul. 62 (a hymeneal, sung by young men and women alternatively)iam veniet virgo, iam dicetur hymenaeus.

Hymen o Hymenaee, Hymen ades o Hymenaee! 5

[] non temere exsiluere: canent quod vincere par est. Hymen o Hymenaee, Hymen ades o Hymenaee! 10

now will come the bride, now will be sung the Hymenaeus.Hymen O Hymenaeus, Hymen come O Hymenaeus!

nor without intent have they leapt forth; what they will sing, it is our task to surpass.Hymen O Hymenaeus, Hymen come O Hymenaeus!

This aspect of the semantics of d cere has been noticed before (e.g. Jahn 1867, Newman 1965);it provides a convenient starting point for the present inquiry since in other Indo-Europeantraditions the reflexes of the root *de - are used in a surprisingly similar way.

2. Indo-Iranian *da - (Vedic di-, Avestan dis- )

2.1 While the meaning to show, to point out is amply represented among the Sanskritreflexes of Indo-Iranian *da -, the verbal rootdi - is sometimes found construed withnouns meaning song of praise:RV 5.43.9

pr tvyaso nmakti tursya ahm p ut v yr adik i / yr dhas codit r mat nyv jasya dravi od ut tmn //I di -ed this homage to mightiest, victorious Pusan and to Vayu,who by their generosity inspire hymns and of themselves are givers of reward

* Trans. Hubbell. Loeb translations have been used here and below, where available.


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Nikolaev, The Story of Latin d cere Oxford University, 23 February 2012

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RV 10.92.9stmavo ady rudr ya kvase k aydv r ya nmas didi ana /

ybhi ivsvvm evay vabhir div s akti svya nk mabhi //Today you shoulddi - with reverence your song of praise to skillful Rudra,the ruler of men, and to those eager and devoted ones together with whom

he comes down from the sky, auspicious, self-bright, providing protectionNote : evayvabhir nk mabhieager, devoted are the MarutsRV 8.102.13 (= KS 40.14.149.20)

pa tv jmyo gro ddi at r havi k ta v yr n ke asthiran //The sisters, who constantlydi - the hymns of the oblation-bearer,have come to you in front of VayuNote : jmya sisters refers to the waters who appear in the next verse (cf. RV 1.23.6).

In these passagesdi - stma / nmakti / gra can be translated as show forth praise

2.2 This usage of the verbdi - in the Rigveda may find a parallel in Avestan where the verb

da saiia- which normally means point out, show, appoint is once found in the meaningrecite, transmit:Yt. 14.46

a t m m rm m frada saii i (Yt. 4.9:fradaxaii )do notdis - this mantra

2.3 Conclusion: in Indo-Iranian poetic language the root *da - could be construed withnouns meaning song, hymn, poetic thought. It was thus one of the roots referring to thesymbiotic relationship betweenlaudandus and laudator : it encoded the offering of song of praise by a poet (on behalf of his patron) to a god.

3. Greek -

3.1 Like Vedicdi -, Greek normally means to point out, to show, to direct. Nonetheless, a peculiar use of the verb is found in the melic poetry:

3.1.1 Alcman 4 fr. 1. 48Davies (= 57 Calame ): ] [ [ [ .[.][.].[

P. xy 2388 fr.1 :Lobel :Calameand wonderful soft utterancesthey(Campbell: revealed) new to men... delight ... intricate

3.1.2 Alcman 59 (b) 3 Davies ( = 149 Calame) The yellow haired Megalostrata, blessed among girls,this gift of the sweet Muses


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3.1.3 Pindar I. 8.4748 (SnellMaehler 8) And the voices of the wisethe youthful excellence of Achillesto those who had been unaware of it

3.1.4 Pindar fr. 32 (Hymn to Apollo, via Aristid.Or . 3.620) but in the Hymns when Pindar narrates the sufferings and change befalling menthroughout time, he says that Cadmus heard Apollo correct music

3.1.5 Bacchylides fr. 15.34 (Maehler) -

we must go to the richly-built temple (of Athena)anda delicate (song / dance)

3.1.6 Philodamus paean to Dionysus (FurleyBremer)( ...)

- 110 (The god commands) to this hymn for his brother to the family of gods,on the occasion of the annual feast of hospitality

3.1.7 In these six passages from choral lyric poetry we find an unexpected use of the verbconstrued with a direct object meaning song, music, song of praise ( ,, , (= ), ( = song),).

individual solutions can be proposed for each passage, for example:3.1.1 to show (as a ), 3.1.2 to teach (pedagogical function of the chorus),3.1.3 to point out, etc

or: the translation to sing, to perform can be adopted for all these passages inview of the Vedic usage above. The assumption that needs to be made is that - to show forth (a song of praise), an inheritedterminus technicus of hymnic poetry, in Greek became employable with a wider array of terms (notnecessarily related to praise) and spread to such choral genres as partheneia andhyporchemata.

3.1.8 Conclusion: Greek / corresponds rather neatly to Vedicdi - construedwith song of praise ( stma / nmakti / g ) and the conclusion is nearly unavoidablethat these two poetic figures share a common origin. We have thus reconstructed anelement of Indo-European poetic diction.


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3.2 An additional argument: 2x Il ., 6x Od. , 4x Hes.: |

7 (/ / ) ||

E.g. Il . 14.320 who bore thehero Perseus

3.2.1 A plausible contextual meaning would be very famous (Hsch. )(on- see Willi 1999). The morphological structure is more or less clear: as a parallel toa deverbal derivative in -- compare (-)famed, e.g.very famousor famed for ships (see Vine 1998).ut what about the root of this adjective?

3.2.2 Root *de -: Schulze (1892: 242) suggested a metrically lengthened *sehr gegrsst (toreceive kindly, Latindecus dignity). Problematic.

Why should a hero or a divine power be described as someone who is well-received or very welcome?

Against Schulzes theory: Doric proper name, found in epichoric proseinscriptions (12x; cannot be an itacistic confusion for -).

3.2.3 Root *de -: Sittl (1880: 52) interpretedas vielgezeigt in the sense much pointed at with fingers and, somewhat similarly, Thieme (1938: 162) glossed the wordas wer verdient dass man ihn dem Fremden zeigt. Not compelling.

3.2.4 he Dit r- sprache provides a simple solution: ()from *(-)de -eto- meantpraised (in song), famous from well worth praising (in song).

4 . Latin dcere , praed c re and praec If the use of *de - with song of praise is so old, the possibility has to be consideredseriously that Italic, too, has preserved this inherited phraseology and the rise of themeaning to speak in this branch could be connected to the poetic usage of *de -, rather

than being seen as an innovation.4.1 Some uses of d c in Augustan poetry4.1.1 d c celebrate in song:

Verg. G. 2.9596 purpureae preciaeque, et quo te carmine dicam Rhaetica? nec cellis ideo contende Falernis The purple and the precian? and you, Rhaetic how shall I sing you?yet even so, vie not with Falernian vaults!

Hor. Carm . 4.9.1921non pugnavit ingens

Idomeneus Sthenelusve solusdicenda Musis proeliaGreat Idomeneus and Stheneluswere not the only men to fight battlesthat the Muses should extol

Prop. 1.7.1-2 Dum tibi Cadmeae dicuntur , Pontice, Thebae armaque fraternae tristia militiaePonticus, while you sing of Cadmean Thebes, and the bitter warfare of fraternal strife


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4.1.2 d c recite or perform a verse (cf.dicetur hymenaeus Catul. 62.4 above in1.):Verg. Ecl . 6.5

pastorem, Tityre, pinguis pascere oportet ovis, deductum dicere carmen Tityrus, a shepherd should pasture fat sheep, but sing a slender song

Verg. Ecl . 10.3 pauca meo Gallo, sed quae legat ipsa Lycoris,carmina sunt dicenda : neget quis carmina Gallo?A few verses I must sing for my Gallus, yet suchas Lycoris herself may read! Who would refuse verses to Gallus?

Hor. Carm. saec . 5-8quo Sibyllini monuere versusvirgines lectas puerosque castosdis, quibus septem placuere colles,

dicere carmenwhen the words of the Sybil have commandeda choir of chosen virgins and chaste young boysto chant a hymn to the godswho are gladdened by the seven hills

4.1.3 d c sing praise:Tib. 1.3.31-2

bisque die resoluta comas tibi dicere laudes insignis turba debeat in Phariaand chant your praises twice a day, with loosened hair, pre-eminent among the Pharian throng.

Verg. Ecl. 6.6-7 namque super tibi erunt qui dicere laudes ,

Vare, tuas cupiant et tristia condere bellasince there are more than enough who desire to singyour praises, Varus, and write about grim war

Hor. Carm. Saec. 74-6 spem bonam certamque domum reporto,doctus et Phoebi chorus et Dianaedicere laudessuch is the good and certain hope I carry homeas chorus trained to sing the praisesof Phoebus and Diana.

4.1.4 d cere carmen , d cere laudes are strikingly reminiscent of Greek and Vedicdi - stmaand may well continue the same inherited formula SHOW (*de -) SONG.However, in order to become truly compelling, any such argument based on Latin will inaddition have to appeal to material that is more or less isolated, thus with a chance of preserving something old.


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4.2 Evidence for isolated (and possibly archaic) *pra di - praise4.2.1 praed cre to praise, to extol:

Ter. Eun. 564-5Quid ego eius tibi nunc faciem praedicem aut laudem Antipho,Cum ipsum me noris quam elegans formarum spectator siem?

Why now should I extol or commend her beauty to you, Antipho,since you yourself know how nice a judge of beauty I am?

Note the decompositional simplexd cre to praise (Old Latin; later: to dedicate):Lucil. 1080 (Marx)

sicubi ad aurisfama tuam pugnam claram adlata dicasset wheresoever rumor that was brought to my ears praised your splendid fight

4.2.2 praed cre is the only Latin verb of speaking compounded with prae- where the prefixhas the archaic locative meaning recite in front of someone (contrast praefar or

praeloqu with a temporal meaning precede someone in speaking).4.2.3 The -intensive praed cre is based on a prepositional compound *pra -dik-:

*pra -dik- *pra -dik-n- > praec , -nis crier, auctioneer and derivative praec niumpublic announcement, auctioneers fee (both words show a syncope of the medialshort vowel which was analogically undone in the verb).

4.2.4 Some unexpected uses of praec and praec nium : praec nium solemn proclamation, poetry of praise: praeconia laudum / laudis

(Ov. Pont . 4.8.46, [Tib.] 3.7.178), praeconia famae (Ov. Ep . 17.207), praeconiarebus Herculis (Ov. Met . 12.773), etc.

Cic. Arch. 24 (~ Fam. 5.12.7)O fortunate adulescens, qui tuae virtutis Homerum praeconem inveneris

Fortunate youth (Achilles), to have found Homer as a herald of your valor ( ~ Antip. Sid. 9.1 G.P., butpraec Greek !)

4.2.5 Conclusion : Latin *pra -dik- praise (+ laudem , etc.) = Vedic pr-di - (nmakti , etc.)

5. A new theory of PIE *de - (of necessity highly speculative) The meaning of Latind cere and its Sabellic cognates can now be accounted for in thefollowing way: while in the colloquial variety of the protolanguage the root *de - hadthe meaning to show, point, direct, in the elevated language of hymns and prayers it wasused in the idiomatic expression *dei - *gw h2 vel sim. to show forth [song of] praise.This is essentially the situation as we find it in Greek and Indo-Iranian which retained the basic meaning to show from the colloquial language and preserved the poetic meaningonly in a few fixed expressions ( - , di - stma). On the contrary, Italic greatlyexpanded the use of *de - with verbal complements, possibly generalizing the meaningto speak from some kind of elliptic usage, while the meaning to show remainedfossilized in a handful of isolated forms (such as Latinindex ).Schematically:*dei - *gw h2 ?? to show forth praise ~ to sing praise ( poetic register )

(Vedicdi - gram , Greek - , Latind cere laud s) *dei - * ek w s to utter (any kind of) words

*dei - to speak > Latind cere


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6 . Tying up loose ends 6.1 What was the origin of the PIE phraseological expression to show forth praise?6.1.1 In the end impossible to say, but the idea of directing or presenting a song of praise to

a deity seems possible.6.1.2

Another possibility: show praise in the sense of reveal praise, cf. PIE *bh

eh2- to shine,to be visible (Vedicbh-, Greek ), whose transitive stem *bh- -h2- make visiblevel sim. gave not only Armenianbanam open and Palaic part. pan ganz(i) appearing, but also Greek bring to light (noteOd . 8.499 sang the song)and Vedicbhnati sings a song [for the gods] which in the later language simply meansto speak. (However, *bheh2- is a particularly uncertain case because a root present withthe meaning speak is abundantly attested: Greek , Arm.bam , Latin f ri , etc.).

6.2 What about Germanic *teihan accuse? This problem needs to be considered anew in thelight of other evidence for *dei - used in the context of blame .

6.2.1 Phrygiancursed, (60x in what seem to be malediction formulae). The handbooks mostly compare this form either to Old Irishtongid , toing swears(leaving the medial -- unexplained) or to Greek to brand (semantically suspect).Meister (1909: 318) was the first to compareto *dei -, positing a rather implausible meaning (zur Bestrafung) angezeigt (cf. Neumann 1988: 4: verurteilt).This etymology becomes unproblematic under the assumption that *dei -, used withverbal complements, denoted not only praise, but also malicious verbal assault.

6.2.2 Hittitetekri - has been known to have a pejorative meaning; thanks to a recently publishednew text (KBo 50.73+Bo 3626), translation slander, gossip, derogation looks quite plausible (see Miller 2008: 121124 and Alexandrov and Sideltsev 2009[2011]). The textis very difficult, but one thing is fairly certain: the phrasetekrin tekrikezi clearly denotesa speech act of some kind. (Note the figura etymologica that is often found in Indo-European with verbs of speaking: Hittitememiyanus memai speaks words, Vedic astm am sa sing praise or English sing a song ). The i-stem tekri - slander can be explained

as a substantivized verbal adjective *de -ro- (cf. Latindictum utterance).6.2.3 Conclusion : Germanic *teihan accuse, Hittitetekri- and Phrygianmay all

reflect the vituperative use of the root *de -.

6.3 A new theory of PIE *de -, revised :*dei - to show, to point out, to direct (colloquial register )*dei - *gw h2 ?? to show forth praise ( poetic register )

(Vedicdi - gram , Greek - , Latind cere laud s)1) *dei - * ek w s to utter (any kind of) words

*dei - to speak > Latind cere2) *dei - *h1lenghos??to show forth blame

*dei - to blame > Gmc. *teihan accusePhrygiancursedHittitetekri - slander


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References: Alexandrov B. E. and A. V. Sideltsev (2009[2011]) Hittite weni , Revue dAssyriologie 103:

5984.Benveniste E. (1969) Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-europennes . Paris: ditions de Minuit.Jahn O. (1867) Wie wurden die Oden des Horatius vorgetragen? Hermes 2/3: 418433.Meister R. (1909) Die olischen Demonstrativa, , und die Partikel ( ) im

Phrygischen, IF 25: 312-325. Neumann G. (1988) Phrygisch und Griechisch . Wien. Newman J. K. (1965) De verbis canere et dicere eorumque apud poetas latinos ab Ennio usque

ad aetatem Augusti usu, Latinitas 13: 86106.Schulze W. (1892)Quaestiones epicae . Gtersloh.Sittl C. (1880) Die Gebrden der Griechen und Rmer . Leipzig: Teubner.Thieme P. (1938) Der Fremdling im gveda: eine Studie ber die Bedeutung der Worte ari, arya,

aryaman und rya . Leipzig: Brockhaus.Vine B. (1998) Aeolic and Deverbative *-to- in Greek and Indo-European . Innsbruck:

Institut fr Sprachwissenschaft der Universitt Innsbruck.Willi A. (1999) Zur Verwendung und Etymologie von griechisch-, Historische

Sprachforschung 112: 86100.

Nikolaev the Story of Dicere

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