ἴσκω

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Beekes suggests a pre-form *ϝίκ-σκ-ω (*wík-sk-ō), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk-.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ís.kɔː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈis.ko/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈis.ko/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈis.ko/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈis.ko/

Verb

ῐ̓́σκω • (ĭ́skō)

to make like, feign, imitate
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.279:
  φωνὴν ἴσκουσʼ ἀλόχοισιν
  phōnḕn ískous’ alókhoisin
  Translation by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, and Roderick McKenzie
  she made her voice like (the voice of) their wives
1. to liken to, deem like, take for
to think like
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 16.41:
  ἐμὲ σοὶ ἴσκοντες
  emè soì ískontes
  Translation by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, and Roderick McKenzie
  thinking me like you
1. to guess, imagine, suppose
2. to think, deem, fancy, judge that
  - 556 BCE – 468 BCE, Simonides, Fragments 69:
    ἦ σεῦ καὶ φθιμένας λεύκ ̓ ὀστέα τῷδ ̓ ἐνὶ τύμβῳ ἴσκω ἔτι τρομέειν θῆρας, ἄγρωσσα Λυκάς.
    ê seû kaì phthiménas leúk ostéa tōîd enì túmbōi ískō éti troméein thêras, ágrōssa Lukás.
    Translation by David Campbell
    Although you are dead, oh huntress Lukas, I think the beasts are still trembling at your white bones in this tomb
to conjecture, guess
to say
- 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Lycophron, Alexandra 573-574:
  τροφὴν δ ̓ἀμεμφῆ πᾶσι τριπτύχους κόρας ἴσκων παρέξειν
  trophḕn d amemphê pâsi triptúkhous kóras ískōn paréxein
  Translation by George Dunkel
  Saying that his three daughters were going to provide impeccable food for all

Conjugation

Present: ἴσκω, ἴσκομαι

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	ἴσκω	ἴσκεις	ἴσκει	ἴσκετον	ἴσκετον	ἴσκομεν	ἴσκετε	ἴσκουσῐ(ν)
	subjunctive	ἴσκω	ἴσκῃς	ἴσκῃ	ἴσκητον	ἴσκητον	ἴσκωμεν	ἴσκητε	ἴσκωσῐ(ν)
	optative	ἴσκοιμῐ	ἴσκοις	ἴσκοι	ἴσκοιτον	ἰσκοίτην	ἴσκοιμεν	ἴσκοιτε	ἴσκοιεν
	imperative		ἶσκε	ἰσκέτω	ἴσκετον	ἰσκέτων		ἴσκετε	ἰσκόντων
middle/passive	indicative	ἴσκομαι	ἴσκῃ, ἴσκει	ἴσκεται	ἴσκεσθον	ἴσκεσθον	ἰσκόμεθᾰ	ἴσκεσθε	ἴσκονται
	subjunctive	ἴσκωμαι	ἴσκῃ	ἴσκηται	ἴσκησθον	ἴσκησθον	ἰσκώμεθᾰ	ἴσκησθε	ἴσκωνται
	optative	ἰσκοίμην	ἴσκοιο	ἴσκοιτο	ἴσκοισθον	ἰσκοίσθην	ἰσκοίμεθᾰ	ἴσκοισθε	ἴσκοιντο
	imperative		ἴσκου	ἰσκέσθω	ἴσκεσθον	ἰσκέσθων		ἴσκεσθε	ἰσκέσθων
		active				middle/passive
infinitive		ἴσκειν				ἴσκεσθαι
participle	m	ἴσκων				ἰσκόμενος
	f	ἴσκουσᾰ				ἰσκομένη
	n	ἶσκον				ἰσκόμενον
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

Imperfect: ἶσκον, ἰσκόμην (Epic)

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	ἶσκον	ἶσκες	ἶσκε(ν)	ἴσκετον	ἰσκέτην	ἴσκομεν	ἴσκετε	ἶσκον
middle/passive	indicative	ἰσκόμην	ἴσκεο, ἴσκευ	ἴσκετο	ἴσκεσθον	ἰσκέσθην	ἰσκόμε(σ)θᾰ	ἴσκεσθε	ἴσκοντο
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms are based on conjecture. Use with caution. For more details, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

Usage notes

In Alexandrian literature, the term acquired the two new senses of "to think, deem" and "to say."

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἴσκω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 600

“ἴσκω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἴσκω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
ἴσκω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἴσκω in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἴσκω, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011
Dunkel, George (23 February 2021), “ἴσκε in the Odyssey”, in Glotta‎^[1], volume 97, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 83–88
Campbell, David A., editor (1 January 1991), Greek Lyric: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, and Others, volume III, Harvard University Press, →ISBN

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἴσκω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 600

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