telə-

To lift, support, weigh; with derivatives referring to measured weights and thence to money and payment. Oldest form *telə₂-.

Derivatives include tolerate, retaliate, tantalize, Atlas, translate, and extol.

1. Suffixed form *telə-mon-. telamon, from Greek telamōn, supporter, bearer.

2. Suffixed form *tel(ə)-es-.

a. toll¹; philately, from Greek telos, tax, charge;

b. tolerate, from Latin tolerāre, to bear, endure.

3. Suffixed zero-grade form *tl̥ə-i-. talion; retaliate, from Latin tāliō, reciprocal punishment in kind, possibly “something paid out,” from *tali- (influenced by tālis, such).

4. Suffixed variant zero-grade form *tala-nt-. talent, from Greek talanton, balance, weight, any of several specific weights of gold or silver, hence the sum of money represented by such a weight.

5. Perhaps (but unlikely) intensive reduplicated form *tantal-. tantalize, Tantalus, from Greek Tantalos, name of a legendary king, “the sufferer.”

6. Perhaps (but unlikely) zero-grade form *tl̥ə-. Atlantic, Atlas, from Greek Atlās (stem Atlant-), name of the Titan supporting the world.

7. Suffixed zero-grade form *tl̥ə-to-. ablation, ablative, allative, collate, dilatory, elate, elative, illation, illative, legislator, oblate¹, prelate, prolate, relate, sublate, superlative, translate, from Latin lātus, “carried, borne,” used as the suppletive past participle of ferre, to bear (see bher-¹), with its compounds.

8. Suffixed zero-grade form *tl̥ə-ā-. tola, from Sanskrit tulā, scales, balance, weight.

9. Nasalized zero-grade form *tl̥-n-ə-. extol, from Latin tollere, to lift.

 

[Pokorny 1. tel- 1060.]

* * *