δεδείξειν

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Lavrentivs
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δεδείξειν

Post by Lavrentivs »

Smyth does not show the future perfect infinitive and δείκνυμι. What does that mean? Simply that the form does not occur in what we have of classical Greek? Or is there any other reason to think it would not have been heard as good Greek?

mwh
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Re: δεδείξειν

Post by mwh »

Unlike in Latin you’ll find very few fut.perf. active forms in Greek. You’d use a "periphrastic" construction, the perfect participle with ἔσεσθαι (fut. of εἶναι), e.g. δεδειχὼς ἔσομαι “I will have shown” (lit. I will be in a state of having shown).

(The passive δεδείξομαι, it so happens, is used as simple fut.pass. not as fut.perf.pass. despite the reduplication. Greek can be confusing, as I dare say you've noticed :D )

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jeidsath
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Re: δεδείξειν

Post by jeidsath »

Should we expect a difference in meaning between δειχθήσομαι and δεδείξομαι?
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mwh
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Re: δεδείξειν

Post by mwh »

No. It's just that over time with many verbs, in Attic and the subsequent koine, middle-form fut. passives tend to displace the more cumbersome passive forms. So when you see a fut. middle form you should be prepared for it to be passive rather than middle; this is frequent in Attic. But there’s little consistency. With δείκνυμι/δεικνύω (again, no difference in meaning between these, but the athematic forms are the older), Isocrates predictably prefers the full and proper and sonorous δειχθήσομαι form, whereas later authors use δεδείξομαι (LSJ). What makes δεδείξομαι exceptional is the δε- reduplication ordinarily found only in perfect stems. A variety of Homeric forms of the verb probably tie in to this.

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