Augment (Indo-European)

In Ancient Greek, the verb λέγω légo "I say" has the aorist ἔλεξα élexa "I said." The initial ε e is the augment. When it comes before a consonant, it is called the "syllabic augment" because it adds a syllable. Sometimes the syllabic augment appears before a vowel because the initial consonant of the verbal root (usually digamma) was lost:[1]

• *έ-ϝιδον *é-widon → (loss of digamma) *ἔιδον *éidon → (synaeresis) εἶδον eîdon

When the augment is added before a vowel, the augment and the vowel are contracted and the vowel becomes long: ἀκούω akoúō "I hear", ἤκουσα ḗkousa "I heard". It is sometimes called the "temporal augment" because it increases the time needed to pronounce the vowel.[2]

In Homer, past-tense (aorist or imperfect) verbs appeared both with and without an augment.

• ὣς φάτο — ὣς ἔφατο
  hṑs pháto — hṑs éphato
  "so he/she said"
• ἦμος δ᾿ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,
  êmos d' ērigéneia phánē rhododáktulos Ēṓs,
  "And when rose-fingered Dawn appeared, early-born,"

There is a debate whether the augment was originally a separate particle, or if it started since the beginning as a past tense marker prefixed to the verb.[3]

Unaccented syllabic augment disappeared during the Byzantine period as a result of the loss of unstressed initial syllables. However, accented syllabic augments have remained in place.[4] So Ancient ἔλυσα, ἐλύσαμεν (élūsa, elū́samen) "I loosened, we loosened" corresponds to Modern έλυσα, λύσαμε (élisa, lísame).[5] The temporal augment has not survived in the vernacular, which leaves the initial vowel unaltered: Ancient ἀγαπῶ, ἠγάπησα (agapô, ēgápēsa) "I love, I loved"; Modern αγαπώ, αγάπησα (agapó, agápisa).