dā-

To divide. Oldest form *deə₂-, colored to *daə₂-, contracted to *dā-.

Derivatives include democracy, epidemic, demon, and time.

I. Suffixed form *dā-mo-, perhaps “division of society.” deme, demos, demotic; demagogue, demiurge, democracy, demography, endemic, epidemic, pandemic, from Greek dēmos, people, land.

II. Variant *dai-, from extended form *daəi-, with zero-grade *dī- (< *diə-, metathesized from *dəi-).

1. Root form *dai-. geodesy, from Greek daiesthai, to divide.

2. Suffixed form *dai-mon-, divider, provider. daimon, demon, from Greek daimōn, divinity.

3. Suffixed variant form *dī-ti-.

a. tide¹; eventide, from Old English tīd, time, season;

b. tide², from Old English denominative tīdan, to happen (< “to occur in time”);

c. tiding, from Old Norse tīdhr, occurring;

d. Yahrzeit, Zeitgeist, from Old High German zīt, time. a-d all from Germanic *tīdiz, division of time.

4. Suffixed variant form *dī-mon-. time, from Old English tīma, time, period, from Germanic *tīmōn-.

 

[Pokorny dā : də- 175.]

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