The Greek Diminutive Suffix -iGxo- -loxtj-. 155 



III. -lEKO- AS A SUFFIX OF SIMILARITY OR APPROXIMATE IDENTITY. 



29. According to § 8 ff. Ihe earliest use of -isko- was to form 

 words in which it designated an approximation to a state or quality 

 designated by a primitiYe adjective. After the suffix was used 

 also to form derivatives from substantives it would of course 

 designate an approximation to the nature of the primitive sub- 

 stantive, i. e. it would represent the derivative as like but not 

 quite like the primitive, a use which though not found precisely 

 in the same form in substantives of other languages than the 

 Greek, yet bears a close resemblance to the prevailing meaning of 

 the Germanic and Balto- Slavic adjectives with substantive prim- 

 itives, e. g. Goth, barnisks ' child-hke ' ; barn ' child,' funisks ' fiery ' : 

 funins (gen.) ' fire,' Lith. dangiszkas ' heavenly ' : dangus ' heaven,' 

 berniszkas ' servantlike ' : bernas. Moreover, since this use, as well 

 as the other uses of -isko-, was influenced by simple -ko-, we may 

 compare Skt. substantives in -ka- which is exactly like Gr. -tTxo-, 

 e. g. culaka-^ 'top of a column': cSla- 'crest,' chattraka-m '^ 

 ' mushroom ' : chattra-m ' parasol.' For Gr. -ktxo- this remained 

 the most characteristic use, one which is not only found in a larger 

 number of words than any other, but often clings to words with 

 deteriorative or diminutive meaning (cf. § 45 f-, 56). I may 

 mention as examples of this meaning : /Yivi(7)to? : /r^v, ' that which 

 is like a goose ' i. e, the end of a ship's stern turned up like a 

 goose's neck, acrirspi'jxo; : aT-r^p, ' that which is like a star, ' an 

 ornament or knob of a helmet or flower, [j-tivit/.o? : [j.Tqvv], something 

 ' like a moon, but not a real one,' ' a crescent.' 



30. This use of -i<7xo- must have existed at all periods of the 

 language, but was most frequent in post-Classical times. There 

 are, however, quite a number of certain examples from the Attic 

 age. That none are found in the pre-Attic hterature (epic and 

 lyric poets) is explained partially by their dialect (§ i), par- 

 tially by their subject matter, since lyric poetry would be the very 

 last place where one would expect words which, like most of those 

 below, designated things belonging to the realm of technology. 

 That not one of the ten words in -iiyyio- of this earlier age show 

 this use may therefore well be laid to the accident of transmis- 

 sion. Conversely, the greater number of post-Classical words of 

 this type is partly due to the existence of technical writers from 

 these periods, and authors like Hero, Galen, and Pollux are re- 



1 Cf, Edgerton, JAOS. 31. 114. 



Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. XVIII. 11 September, 1913. 



