πρεσβύ-τερος

Grammatical information: m.

Meaning: `the old, aged one' (poet. Pi., trag.), `president' (Sparta); pl. πρέσβεις most `ambassador, messenger' (Att., Dor. inscr.); besides πρεσβ-ῆες (Hes. Sc. 245), - εῦσιν (Lyc.), du. -ῆ (Att.); cf. below on πρεσβεύω.

Other forms: Gen. (rare) - εως, - εος, acc. - υν, voc. -υ.

Compounds: As 1. member a.o. in πρεσβυ-γενής `first-born' (A 249 a.o.).

Derivatives: 1. Comp. forms: πρεσβύ-τερος (with - τέριον `council of elders' [N.T.]), - τατος `old, venerable, the eldest, most venerable' (Il.); also πρέσβιστος `most venerable' (h. Hom., A., S. a.o.) after κράτιστος, κύδιστος, with the cross πρεσβίστ-ατος (Nic.). 2. Feminins: πρέσβα ( θεά) `the venerable', of Hera a.o. (ep. Il.), after πότνα ( θεά)?; πρέσβεα ( μήτηρ; poet. inscr. from Caria II-I^a), metr. cond.; πρέσβειρα ( θεῶν a.o.; h. Ven. etc.), after πίειρα, - άνειρα a.o.; πρεσβηΐς ( τιμή h. Hom.), after βασιληΐς a.o., cf. πρεσβῆες above. 3. πρεσβ-ήϊον n. `gift of honour' (Θ 289), - εῖον `privilege (of age)' (Att., hell.). 4. - εία f. `right, privilege (of age)' (A., Pl.), usu. `embassy' (Att.; to πρεσβεύω). 5. πρεσβύ̄της m. `the old, aged one', enlargement of πρέσβυς after πολίτης a.o. (not with Fraenkel Glotta 34, 301 ff. innovation to πρεσβῦτις; IA.) with f. - ῦτις, adj. - υτικός `senile' (Att. etc.). 6. πρεσβῠ́της, - ητος f., Dor. - τας. - τατος `(higher) age' (inscr. Messene I<sup>a</sup> [completed] a.o.; after νεότης). 7. πρέσβις f. `age, rank', only in κατὰ πρέσβιν (h. Merc., Pl. a.o.); after κατὰ τάξιν a.o. 8. πρέσβος n. `(object of) veneration', after κῦδος, κράτος a.o. 9. πρεσβ-εύω `to be the eldest, to have precedence, to be ambassador', trans. `to attend, venerate like a πρέσβυς', midd. `to send ambassadors', also w. παρα-, συν-, ἀπο- a.o., with - ευτής m. `ambassador, messenger' (Att.; as singulative to πρέσβεις). - ευτικός, - εύτειρα, - ευτεύω, - ευμα, - ευσις; partly also πρεσβεία (s. ab. 4) and, as backformation, πρεσβεῦσιν dat. pl. (Lyc.; s. ab.; cf. Bosshardt 63). -- 10. Shortnames like Πρέσβων (to πρέσβειρα after πέπειρα: πέπων? Fraenkel KZ 43, 216 n.2). Πρέσβος a.o., s. Bechtel Hist. Personennamen 385. -- On the diff. writings and formations s. Lejeune Mém. de phil. myc. 239ff.

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [812] * pres-gʷeu- `who goes in front'

Etymology: Beside the above forms stand in Doric, esp. in Crete, and in Northwestgr. several byforms with γ for β and changing initial syllable: πρεῖγυς, πρείγιστος with comp. πρείγων, πρειγ-εύω with - ευτάς, -ήϊα, - εία; also πρείγα f. `council of elders' (Locris); πρεσγευτάς, πρεγγ-; later πρήγιστος with (Cos) - ιστεύω; πρεσγέα = πρεσβεία (Argos), πρισγε(ι)ες (Boeot.); also σπέργυς πρέσβυς and πέργουν πρέσβεις H. Common basis prob. πρεσγ- (with voiced σ; cf. πρεζβευτάς Delphi); from there through phonetical, in detail uncertain developments the other forms, s. Schwyzer 276, Seiler Steigerungsformen 59, Thumb-Kieckers 158, Kapsomenos Glotta 40, 46ff., Masson Glotta 41, 65ff., Lejeune l.c. (with rejection of Mycenaean interpretations). -- From the interchange β: γ follows an orig. IE labiovelar gʷ; the preceding syllable, prob. to be taken as the 1. member of a compound, contains as is generally assumed a frozen adverb πρές `in front' (s. πρός). The final syllable resp. the final member is debated. By Bezzenberger BB 4, 345, Bloomfield AmJPh 29, 79 ff. compared with Skt. puro-gavá- `leader', of which the 2. member is derived both from gaúḥ = βοῦς (so prop. *"leading bull"), as, and on better grounds, from a word for `go' (in βαίνω, βῆναι resp. Skt. jávate `run') (so prop. *"who goes in fromt"). Thus a.o. Fraenkel Glotta 32, 17 u. 34, 301 ff., who wants to explain also Lith. žmogùs `man' in this way (prop. "going on earth"; s. also Wb. s.v. w. lit.); on the Skt. word esp Mayrhofer s. puráḥ. -- Very temptong is the connection with Arm. erēc̣, gen. eric̣u `elder, priest' (Meillet in Lejeune op. cit. 240 n. 9), of which the ē prob. continues a diphthong ei or oi (IE * preisgʷu-?) and usu. connected with Lat. prīscus. Cf. on μεσσηγύς: the second member continues a root * gʷeu-, a variant of * gʷem-.

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