Yes, it is a widespread IE root, but some
clarification is in order. The root (reconstructed traditionally as *tek^รพ-
with the so-called PIE "thorn" fricative, but most likely being just *tek^s-)
was originally used of woodworking crafts (roughly, "to make, dress,
shape or build using woodworking tools"). Hence such agent nouns as
*tek^so:n 'carpenter, builder' (Skt. taks.an-, Gk. tekto:n), tool names like
*tek^slah2- 'adze', etc. In many IE languages the old meaning was extended to
cover such notions as art, technology, and creative skills in general. Poetry,
for example, was described (perhaps already in PIE, as the existence of
fixed formulas suggests) as "word-joinery".
Gk. tekhne: 'skill, craft' <
*tek^snah2-. As you can easily guess, the original meaning of Gk. arkhi-tekto:n
(out "architect") was 'master builder'. Any Greek-derived word with
<tect-> or <techn-> in it illustrates the use of this
root.
The Latin cognates are the
verb <texo:> and its derivatives, which typically have to do with
weaving crafts, cf. such Latin loans in English as <textile> or
<text> (from Lat. textus 'fabric') -- a semantic development peculiar
to Latin.
The actual Slavic verb is *tesati 'to
shape, dress, hew, chisel (wood or stone)'; it produces numerous
derivatives throughout the branch. Its Latvian counterpart
is <te:st>. Lithuanian has <tas^yti> with the same meaning
(though a slightly different formation, reflecting an old iterative with the
o-grade *tok^s-).
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 4:48 AM
Subject: [tied] Technology
taks. is a word used in the R.gveda to express creative
skills.
Is it possible to relate this root to Greco-Roman technos or
Lithuanian tasyati or Slavic tasati?
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