νή

See also: νη-

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ναί (naí)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₁enos (“that one”), the source of Latin nē (“truly!”), enim (“truly”).^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /nɛ̌ː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ne̝/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ni/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ni/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ni/

Adverb

νή • (nḗ)

(used to express strong affirmation, with accusative case of the divinity invoked) by
- 424 BCE, Aristophanes, The Knights 319
1. (with the article)
  - 388 BCE, Aristophanes, Plutus 202
(in answers)
- 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Cyropaedia 1.3.6

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ναί”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 993

Further reading

“νή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“νή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 319