μνημεῖον

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• μνᾱμεῖον (mnāmeîon) — Doric
• μνημήῐ̈ον (mnēmḗïon) — Ionic

Etymology

From μνήμη (mnḗmē, “memory”) +‎ -εῖον (-eîon), from μνᾰ́ομαι (mnáomai, “I am mindful of”) +‎ -μη (-mē).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mnɛː.mêː.on/ → /mniˈmi.on/ → /mniˈmi.on/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mnɛː.mêː.on/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /mne̝ˈmi.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /mniˈmi.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /mniˈmi.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /mniˈmi.on/

Noun

μνημεῖον • (mnēmeîon) n (genitive μνημείου); second declension

1. any memorial, remembrance, record of a person or thing
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.135.3:

     ἐπεθύμησε γὰρ Ῥοδῶπις μνημήιον ἑωυτῆς ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι καταλιπέσθαι

     epethúmēse gàr Rhodôpis mnēmḗion heōutês en têi Helládi katalipésthai

     For Rhodopis desired to leave a memorial of herself in Greece.

2. memorial of a dead person; a monument
   • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Electra 933:

     οἶμαι μάλιστ’ ἔγωγε τοῦ τεθνηκότος μνημεῖ’ Ὀρέστου ταῦτα προσθεῖναί τινα

     oîmai málist’ égōge toû tethnēkótos mnēmeî’ Oréstou taûta prostheînaí tina

     Most likely, I think, someone placed those gifts in memory of the dead Orestes.

Declension

Second declension of τὸ μνημεῖον; τοῦ μνημείου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ μνημεῖον tò mnēmeîon	τὼ μνημείω tṑ mnēmeíō	τᾰ̀ μνημεῖᾰ tà mnēmeîa
Genitive	τοῦ μνημείου toû mnēmeíou	τοῖν μνημείοιν toîn mnēmeíoin	τῶν μνημείων tôn mnēmeíōn
Dative	τῷ μνημείῳ tôi mnēmeíōi	τοῖν μνημείοιν toîn mnēmeíoin	τοῖς μνημείοις toîs mnēmeíois
Accusative	τὸ μνημεῖον tò mnēmeîon	τὼ μνημείω tṑ mnēmeíō	τᾰ̀ μνημεῖᾰ tà mnēmeîa
Vocative	μνημεῖον mnēmeîon	μνημείω mnēmeíō	μνημεῖᾰ mnēmeîa
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of τὸ μνᾱμεῖον; τοῦ μνᾱμείοιο (Doric)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ μνᾱμεῖον tò mnāmeîon	τὼ μνᾱμείω tṑ mnāmeíō	τᾰ̀ μνᾱμεῖᾰ tà mnāmeîa
Genitive	τοῦ μνᾱμείοιο toû mnāmeíoio	τοῖν μνᾱμείοιν toîn mnāmeíoin	τῶν μνᾱμείων tôn mnāmeíōn
Dative	τῷ μνᾱμείῳ tôi mnāmeíōi	τοῖν μνᾱμείοιν toîn mnāmeíoin	τοῖς μνᾱμείοις toîs mnāmeíois
Accusative	τὸ μνᾱμεῖον tò mnāmeîon	τὼ μνᾱμείω tṑ mnāmeíō	τᾰ̀ μνᾱμεῖᾰ tà mnāmeîa
Vocative	μνᾱμεῖον mnāmeîon	μνᾱμείω mnāmeíō	μνᾱμεῖᾰ mnāmeîa
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Second declension of τὸ μνημήῐ̈ον; τοῦ μνημηῐ̈́ου (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ μνημήῐ̈ον tò mnēmḗïon	τὼ μνημηῐ̈́ω tṑ mnēmēḯō	τᾰ̀ μνημήῐ̈ᾰ tà mnēmḗïa
Genitive	τοῦ μνημηῐ̈́ου toû mnēmēḯou	τοῖν μνημηῐ̈́οιν toîn mnēmēḯoin	τῶν μνημηῐ̈́ων tôn mnēmēḯōn
Dative	τῷ μνημηῐ̈́ῳ tôi mnēmēḯōi	τοῖν μνημηῐ̈́οιν toîn mnēmēḯoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν μνημηῐ̈́οισῐ / μνημηῐ̈́οισῐν / μνημηῐ̈́οις toîsi(n) mnēmēḯoisi(n) / mnēmēḯois
Accusative	τὸ μνημήῐ̈ον tò mnēmḗïon	τὼ μνημηῐ̈́ω tṑ mnēmēḯō	τᾰ̀ μνημήῐ̈ᾰ tà mnēmḗïa
Vocative	μνημήῐ̈ον mnēmḗïon	μνημηῐ̈́ω mnēmēḯō	μνημήῐ̈ᾰ mnēmḗïa
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Synonyms

• μνῆμᾰ (mnêma)

Descendants

• Greek: μνημείο (mnimeío)

References

• “μνημεῖον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μνημεῖον”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• μνημεῖον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• G3419 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • commemoration idem, page 147.
  • memento idem, page 524.
  • memorial idem, page 524.
  • monument idem, page 539.
  • record idem, page 681.
  • remembrance idem, page 693.
  • reminder idem, page 693.
  • souvenir idem, page 797.
  • trophy idem, page 896.