Abstract

Desideratives are secondary derivatives from verbal and nominal roots displaying stems consisting of two thematic formants:  -i-a and -s-ei. Both are documented already in Homer; in the latter language the formation in -s-ei is found above all in Doric dialects (known as ‘Doric future’). The category of desideratives is also well developed in Indo-Aryan, but in spite of certain morphological resemblances, Indo-Aryan and Hellenic developed this category independently.