οὖν

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ὦν (ôn) — Doric, Ionic, Aeolic, Boeotian
οὖν (oûn) — Ionic, Thessalian

Etymology

According to Beekes (2010), “the relation between οὖν and ὦν is unclear. Unconvincing explanations in Brugmann-Thumb 1913: 633 and in Schwyzer 1950: 586f. On οὖν in Homer, cf. Reynen Glotta 36 (1957): Iff. and Reynen Glotta 37 (1958): 67ff.”^[1]

Dunkel suggests origin as Proto-Indo-European *óh₁ em, a combination of two emphatic particles.^[2]

Pronunciation

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

Particle

οὖν • (oûn) (discourse particle) (Attic, Epic)

then (implying temporal sequence)
therefore (implying causal sequence)
Marker of the continuation of a previously interrupted line of thought: "As I was saying..."
Added to indefinite pronoun or adverb, such as ὁστισοῦν (hostisoûn), to make it more general: whoever, whatever; whosoever

Derived terms

γοῦν (goûn)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “οὖν”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1127
^ Dunkel, George E. (2014) Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, page 210

“οὖν”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“οὖν”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“οὖν”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
οὖν in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
οὖν in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
“οὖν”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G3767 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.
- accordingly idem, page 7.
- consequently idem, page 163.
- now idem, page 562.
- so idem, page 790.
- then idem, page 865.
- therefore idem, page 865.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “οὖν”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1127

[2] Dunkel, George E. (2014) Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, page 210

[1]

[2]