Sources for a history of the notion of root from Graeco-Romanantiquity to the end of the 18th century

Abstract

The work deals with the history of the term and the concept of “root” from antiquity to the end of the 18th century. Its aim is to reconstruct the conditions under which this notion was used just before the Indo-European hypothesis of Schlegel, Rask, and Bopp. To achieve this, the following works are analyzed: classical sources and Varro (§ 2); Greek and Roman grammarians (§ 3); medieval sources, that is, works on the doctrina derivationis and the Modistae (§ 4); grammars of Semitic languages (§ 5); early works on the origin of Language that treat Hebrew as the original language (§ 6); German grammars and etymological dictionaries that consider German as the Original Language (§ 7); general grammars and Lancelot’s Jardin (§ 8); Sanskrit grammars published in Europe between the 17th and 18th centuries (§ 9); philosophical works on the natural origin of Language and de Brosses’ Traité (§ 10); constructed languages, both a priori and a posteriori (§ 11). Some reflections on the importance of the notion of “root” and its history in contemporary linguistics conclude the work.