ἀκούω

See also: ακούω

Ancient Greek

Etymology

    From Proto-Hellenic *akouhō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti, and cognate with English hear, hark and harken. In this word, the diphthong ου (ou) is genuine (see spurious diphthong on Wikipedia for an explanation).

    Pronunciation

     

    Verb

    ᾰ̓κούω • (ăkoúō)

    1. (transitive) to hear [with accusative ‘something’; or with genitive ‘someone’]
    2. (transitive) to hear about, learn
    3. (transitive) to listen, pay attention to, heed
      Ἄκουε τοῦ διδασκάλου!
      Ákoue toû didaskálou!
      Listen to the teacher!
      Νῦν δὲ ἄκουσόν μου!
      Nûn dè ákousón mou!
      Now listen to me!
    4. (transitive) to understand
    5. (transitive) to obey
    6. (passive voice) to be called, be spoken of, be known as

    Usage notes

    Usually, the object which is heard takes the accusative case, while the speaker, when present, takes the genitive. Sometimes the object is in the genitive, or the person is introduced with a preposition.

    Inflection

    Attic uses the future middle ἀκούσομαι (akoúsomai), while future active ἀκούσω (akoúsō) appears in Koine and Homer (Iliad 21.475).

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Greek: ακούω (akoúo)

    References