νώ

Ancient Greek

first person pronoun ^(edit)

case	singular		dual	plural
	str.	encl.	str.	str.
nominative	ἐγώ		νώ, νῶϊ	ἡμεῖς
genitive	ἐμοῦ	μου	νῷν	ἡμῶν
dative	ἐμοί	μοι	νῷν	ἡμῖν
accusative	ἐμέ	με	νώ, νῶϊ	ἡμᾶς
adjective	ἐμός		νωΐτερος	ἡμέτερος

Alternative forms

• νῶῐ̈ (nôï) — Epic

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *nos. Cognate with Avestan 𐬥𐬁 (nā), Old Church Slavonic на (na), Sanskrit नस् (nas), Latin nōs.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /nɔ̌ː/ → /no/ → /no/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /nɔ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /no/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /no/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /no/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /no/

Pronoun

νώ • (nṓ)

1. (first person dual personal pronoun) we two, both of us, us two
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.280–284:

     αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ Τυδεΐδης καὶ δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς
     ἥμενοι ἐν μέσσοισιν ἀκούσαμεν, ὡς ἐβόησας.
     νῶϊ μὲν ἀμφοτέρω μενεήναμεν ὁρμηθέντες
     ἢ ἐξελθέμεναι ἢ ἔνδοθεν αἶψ’ ὑπακοῦσαι·
     ἀλλ’ Ὀδυσεὺς κατέρῡκε καὶ ἔσχεθεν ῑ̔εμένω περ.

     autàr egṑ kaì Tudeḯdēs kaì dîos Odusseùs
     hḗmenoi en méssoisin akoúsamen, hōs ebóēsas.
     nôï mèn amphotérō meneḗnamen hormēthéntes
     ḕ exelthémenai ḕ éndothen aîps’ hupakoûsai;
     all’ Oduseùs katérūke kaì éskhethen hīeménō per.

     [Menelaus talking to Helen:]
     But I and Tydides and divine Odysseus
     sat in the middle [of the Trojan horse] and heard [you] when you yelled.
     We were both eager and ready to
     get out or immediately answer from inside,
     but Odysseus restrained and checked us despite our eagerness.

Usage notes

Singular and plural are ἐγώ (egṓ) and ἡμεῖς (hēmeîs).

Inflection

Irregular declension of νώ; νῷν (Attic)

Case / #	Dual
Nominative	νώ nṓ
Genitive	νῷν nôin
Dative	νῷν nôin
Accusative	νώ nṓ
Vocative	νώ nṓ
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Irregular declension of νῶῐ̈; νῶῐ̈ν (Epic)

Case / #	Dual
Nominative	νῶῐ̈ / νώ nôï / nṓ
Genitive	νῶῐ̈ν nôïn
Dative	νῶῐ̈ν nôïn
Accusative	νῶῐ̈ / νώ nôï / nṓ
Vocative	νῶῐ̈ / νώ nôï / nṓ
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

References

• “ἐγώ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• νώ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• νώ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• Herbert Weir Smyth & Gordon M. Messing, Greek Grammar, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1956, p.90f.
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1029