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持ちつ持たれつ (meaning approximately "supporting eachother") is commonly heard, but
seems to be formed from some archaic grammar.

  * I'm assuming it's an archaic form of 持って持たれて or something like that, but can somebody confirm/dismiss/elaborate on that? 
  * When was this kind of grammar in active use? 
  * Are these archaic forms used in any other common modern expressions?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-24T09:34:20.320
4428
2014-10-01T04:07:26.760
1073
question
grammar history
What's the grammar of 持ちつ持たれつ?
This `〜つ〜つ` form means `〜たり〜たりしながら`. It is followed by how or why those
actions occurred. The two verbs are usually "opposite" or "contradictory"
actions. I think it is a more formal construct, but not necessarily archaic.

Here are some example sentences from [my
book](http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%81%A9%E3%82%93%E3%81%AA%E6%99%82%E3%81%A9%E3%81%86%E4%BD%BF%E3%81%86-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E8%A1%A8%E7%8F%BE%E6%96%87%E5%9E%8B500%E2%80%95%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E8%83%BD%E5%8A%9B%E8%A9%A6%E9%A8%931%E3%83%BB2%E7%B4%9A%E5%AF%BE%E5%BF%9C-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%82%AF%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%83%86%E3%82%AD%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88-%E5%8F%8B%E6%9D%BE-%E6%82%A6%E5%AD%90/dp/4872345894):

>   * マラソンの最後の500メートルで二人の選手は **抜きつ抜かれつ** の接戦になった → The last 500 meters of the
> marathon become a close battle between the two runners as they kept trading
> out for first place.
>   * 風に吹き飛ばされた赤い帽子は木【こ】（こ）の葉のように **浮きつ沈みつ** 川を流れて行った → A red hat that was
> blown about by the wind kept rising and falling (sinking) like a (tree) leaf
> as it went on down the river.
>   * 変な男の人がうちの前を **行【ゆ】（ゆ）きつ戻りつ** している。何をしているんだろう。 → There is a strange man
> going back and forth (going and coming) in front of our house. I wonder what
> the heck he's doing!?
>

As far as your example `持ちつ持たれつ`, a whole sentence and/or more context would
be easier to really decipher the meaning.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-24T15:26:29.903
4430
2014-10-01T04:07:26.760
2014-10-01T04:07:26.760
78
78
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answer