Mycenaean words related to τρέπω and στρέφω

Abstract

This paper deals with the Mycenaean representatives of three IE verbal roots: *terk u̯ - ‘twist’, *trep- ‘turn’ and *streg u̯h - ‘turn, rotate’. Mycenaean data show that the derivatives of *terk u̯ - were still differentiated before the loss of labiovelar stops in post-Mycenaean times and that the verb στρέφω ‘turn, twist, rotate’ stems from *streg u̯h -. Semantic interference among these roots is already underway in the Mycenaean period, anticipating the convergence of *terk u̯ - with *trep- and *streg u̯h - in the first millennium.