téllō

The fusion of two pre-Greek verbs. The sense 'to rise' is from Proto-Hellenic *telne- from Proto-Indo-European *tl̥-n-h₂-, a nasal-infixed present (the present tense system includes a N progressive aspect marker), cognate with Armenian թողնել (tʿoġnel, “to let, allow”), Latintollō (“to lift, carry away”), Old Irish tlenaid (“to carry away, steal”), Tocharian B tallaṃ (“to lift, endure”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“to lift, take on”).

The sense 'to accomplish' is from Proto-Hellenic *kʷelne- from Proto-Indo-European *kʷl̥-n-h₁-, also a nasal-infixed present, cognate with Welsh pallu (“to fail; to refuse”), Tocharian A källāṣ (“to lead, bring”), Albanian përkul (“to bend”), from the root Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁- (“to turn”). The meaning in Greek developed from 'to turn' > 'to go in a circle' (eg stars) > 'to carry out to the end'.

Pronunciation

[ more ▼] 

• IPA^(key): /tél.lɔː/ → /ˈtel.lo/ → /ˈte.lo/

Verb

τέλλω • (téllō)

1. (poetic, Cretan) to accomplish, perform
2. to rise (of stars) = ἀνατέλλω (anatéllō)

Usage notes

This verb usually occurs with a prefix, see under Derived terms