What's the grammar of 持ちつ持たれつ?

Question

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?

Answer 1

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:

• 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.