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The Greek word “to fight” (1)

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Topics (move over topic to see place in topic list) Mesopotamian loanwords in Greek 11 Language, communication, libraries and education 11.01 Imperial languages 11.01.05 Shared linguistic items and features 11.01.05.05 Mesopotamian loanwords 11.01.05.05.02 Mesopotamian loanwords in Greek	Keywords Greek language naming
Period No period specified	Channel No channel specified

Text
The Greek word for “battle”, macha and machessasthai - “to fight” correspond to the general Semitic word for “to hit”, mahāṣu in Akkadian, together with Aramaic maha, battle. The highly irregular formation of the root, irregular from the point of view of the Greek, could indicate external influences.

Bibliography

Burkert 1992, 39

Burkert, Walter. The Orientalizing Revolution. Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Period. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press 1992.

Amar Annus

URL for this entry: http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0001025.php

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