Ancient Greek

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Etymology

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    Rix derives the word from Proto-Hellenic *həřřéyō, from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (to take, grasp, plunder)[1] (though Beekes seems implicitly skeptical and leaves the origin open).[2] The aorist stem appears to be from the synonymous *selh₁- (to take), which is also the source of English sell.

    Pronunciation

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    Verb

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    αἱρέω (hairéō)

    1. (transitive) to take, grasp, seize
    2. (transitive) to win, gain
    3. (transitive) to convict, win a conviction
    4. (figuratively, transitive) to grasp with the mind, understand
    5. (middle voice, transitive) to take for oneself, choose, select
    6. (middle voice, transitive) to prefer

    Usage notes

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    Do not confuse with αἴρω (aírō, to lift, raise), contracted form of verb ἀείρω (aeírō). Strong's Greek conjectures that αἱρέω (hairéō) and αἴρω (aírō) may be related but this view is not commonly accepted.

    Inflection

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    Derived terms

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    References

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    1. ^ Rix, Helmut, editor (2001), “3. *ser-”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben [Lexicon of Indo-European Verbs] (in German), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, →ISBN, page 535
    2. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “αἱρέω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 42

    Further reading

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