Re: EAK numerals

Philip Newton wrote:
> On 5/22/07, R A Brown <ray@...> wrote:
>
>> Mark J. Reed wrote:
[snip]
>> > Why not, as a compromise,  retroactively regularize the ancient forms?
>> > Perhaps adopt -konta as a standard x10 suffix,
>>
>> I had considered whether to abstract a word _kónta_, meaning "a group
>> of 10"
>
> An obvious (to me) thing would be to use the numbers -- which are
> derived from a combining form anyway -- and make compounds with kónta
> (which could be a bound morpheme, if you'd like), thus: duókonta,
> triákonta, tetrákonta, pentákonta, eksákonta, eptákonta, oktákonta,
> enneákonta (some accents moving so that they are not more than three
> syllables from the end).
Yes, that's a possibility. But then, why not also _enókonta_ for 10?

If on the other hand, we keep _déka_ for 10, should we not also keep
_eíkosa_ for 20?

If we have these forms for the 10s, should we not consider retaining
something akin to the AG forms for hundreds? In that language we find
(in the Romanization I've been using foe EAK examples):
diakósioi = 200
triakósioi = 300
tetrakósioi = 400
pentakósioi = 500
eksakósioi = 600
eptakósioi = 700
oktakósioi = 800
enakósioi = 900

These are all given in the masc. plural nominative. To turn them into
acceptable EAK forms, all we need do for most is to drop the final -i.
We then have only to change 200 to _duokósio_ and 900 to _enneakósio_.
So again I have to consider if _enokósio_ should not be the word for 100.
----------------------------------

Philip Newton wrote:
 > On 5/22/07, R A Brown <ray@...> wrote:
[snip]

 >> Umm - on checking, I find that the combining form of 10000 is indeed
 >> μυριο-, but with 1000 both χιλια- and χιλιο- were used. In English we
 >> 'chiliahedron' and 'myriapod'; tho I notice the ancient Greek for the
 >> latter is μυριόπους  - how confusing!
 >>
 >> I need to think on this.
 >
 > My MG dictionary wasn't as much of a help as I had hoped, then, since
 > it has μυριάποδο with -a- for "millipede"! (In addition to χιλιοποδάρα
 > and χιλιοποδαρούσα, both of which seem more colloquial to me, but
 > which have -o-.)
 >
 > But e.g. χιλιοπλάσιος for "thousandfold", also with -o-, and the
 > unhelpful χιλιετηρίς "millennium", without a combining vowel.
 >
 > And also μυριόπλουτος "stinking rich", μυριοπληθής "countless", and
 > μυριόνεκρος "extremely bloody (e.g. battle)" with -o-.
 >
 > My impression is that you could do worse than use -o for both xílio and
 > múrio.

Yes, I think from a _Greek_ point of view - and I must do this as
strictly as possible with EAK - _xílio_ and _múrio_ are the better forms.

--
Ray
==================================
ray@carolandray.plus.com
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
==================================
Nid rhy hen neb i ddysgu.
There's none too old to learn.
[WELSH PROVERB]


--
Ray
==================================
ray@carolandray.plus.com
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
==================================
Nid rhy hen neb i ddysgu.
There's none too old to learn.
[WELSH PROVERB]

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