# θνῄσκω
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* θναίσκω (thnaískō) — Aeolic
* θνᾴσκω (thnā́iskō) — Doric
* θνήσκω (thnḗskō)

### Etymology

* Traditionally compared to Sanskrit अध्वनीत् (á-dhvanī-t, “he disappeared”), ध्वान्त (dhvān-tá-, “dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwenh₂- (“to die”). However, Beekes doubts this, on the basis of the zero-grade forms, which would then be *θυνεῖν, *θύνατος.
* LIV² reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *dʰn̥h₂-sḱé-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰenh₂- (“to set oneself in motion, to take off”), comparing the word with Sanskrit धन्वति (dhánvati, “to flow”), Tocharian A tsnāntär (“to flow”), but the semantic connection is weak.
* Others refer to Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰn̥h₂-, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“to kill”), from which come θείνω (theínō, “slay”), φόνος (phónos, “murder”), and φᾰτός (phătós, “slain”).
* Cf. also Sanskrit निधन (nidhána, “death”), प्रधन (pradhána, “tearing, bursting; battle”).
In any case, the second part is the inchoative suffix -σκω (-skō).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tʰnɛ̌ːi̯s.kɔː/ → /ˈθnis.ko/ → /ˈθnis.ko/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /tʰnɛ̌ːi̯s.kɔː/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈtʰne̝s.ko/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈθnis.ko/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈθnis.ko/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈθnis.ko/

### Verb

θνῄσκω • (thnḗiskō)
* to die; (aorist and perfect) to be dead
** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 7.52:οὐ γάρ πώ τοι μοῖρα θανεῖν καὶ πότμον ἐπισπεῖνou gár pṓ toi moîra thaneîn kaì pótmon epispeînNor yet is it thy fate to die and meet thy doom.
* (serves as passive of κτείνω (kteínō, “kill”)) to be killed
** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 15.289:ἦ θήν μιν μάλα ἔλπετο θῡμὸς ἑκάστου χερσὶν ὑπ’ Αἴαντος θανέειν Τελαμωνιάδᾱο.ê thḗn min mála élpeto thūmòs hekástou khersìn hup’ Aíantos thanéein Telamōniádāo.Truly the heart of every one [of us] really hoped that [Hector] had been killed at the hands of Ajax son of Telamon.

#### Usage notes

In the present, the aorist and the future, the compound form ἀποθνῄσκω (apothnḗiskō) is often substituted.

#### Derived terms

* ἀμφιθνῄσκω (amphithnḗiskō)
* ἀντιθνῄσκω (antithnḗiskō)
* ἀποθνῄσκω (apothnḗiskō)
* δυσθνῄσκω (dusthnḗiskō)
* ἐκθνῄσκω (ekthnḗiskō)
* ἐνθνῄσκω (enthnḗiskō)
* εὐθνήσιμος (euthnḗsimos)
* θανάσιμος (thanásimos)
* θάνατος (thánatos)
* θνησαῖον (thnēsaîon)
* θνησείδιον (thnēseídion)
* θνῆσις (thnêsis)
* θνητός (thnētós)
* καταθνῄσκω (katathnḗiskō)
* περιθνῄσκω (perithnḗiskō)
* προθνῄσκω (prothnḗiskō)
* συνθνῄσκω (sunthnḗiskō)
* ὑπερθνῄσκω (huperthnḗiskō)

### References

* “θνῄσκω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* θνῄσκω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* θνῄσκω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* G2348 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “θάνατος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 533–4
* Rix, Helmut, editor (2001), “*dʰenh₂-”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben [Lexicon of Indo-European Verbs] (in German), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, →ISBN, pages 144–5
* Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN