ἄγνος

See also: αγνός and ἁγνός

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

From the adjective ἁγνός (hagnós, “chaste”), unless this is a folk etymology which led to the cultural associations with chastity, rather than the reverse.[1] Beekes considers this a candidate for Pre-Greek origin given the variants ἄγονος (ágonos, id.) and ἄγονον (ágonon, “wild myrtle”) (which, on the other hand, could just be identical to the adjective ἄγονος (ágonos, “infertile”)), speculatively perhaps from a more widespread European substrate source, in view of its resemblance to Old Church Slavonic ꙗгнѧдъ (jagnędŭ, “black poplar”).[2] The non-arboreal meanings are uncertain and remain unexplained.

Pronunciation

 

Noun

ἄγνος • (ágnos) f (genitive ἄγνου); second declension

  1. chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
    Synonym: λύγος (lúgos)
  2. withy (Can we verify(+) this sense?)
  3. Atlantic stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber)
    Synonyms: καλλιώνυμος (kalliṓnumos), οὐρανοσκόπος (ouranoskópos)
  4. type of bird

Usage notes

The branches of the chaste tree were strewn by young women on their beds at the Thesmophoria. The notion of chastity was an association from the word's similarity to ἁγνός (hagnós, “chaste”).

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ᾰ̓́γνος; τῆς ᾰ̓́γνου (Attic)
Case / # Singular Dual Plural
Nominative ἡ ᾰ̓́γνος
hē ắgnos 		τὼ ᾰ̓́γνω
tṑ ắgnō 		αἱ ᾰ̓́γνοι
hai ắgnoi
Genitive τῆς ᾰ̓́γνου
tês ắgnou 		τοῖν ᾰ̓́γνοιν
toîn ắgnoin 		τῶν ᾰ̓́γνων
tôn ắgnōn
Dative τῇ ᾰ̓́γνῳ
tēî ắgnōi 		τοῖν ᾰ̓́γνοιν
toîn ắgnoin 		ταῖς ᾰ̓́γνοις
taîs ắgnois
Accusative τὴν ᾰ̓́γνον
tḕn ắgnon 		τὼ ᾰ̓́γνω
tṑ ắgnō 		τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓́γνους
tā̀s ắgnous
Vocative ᾰ̓́γνε
ắgne 		ᾰ̓́γνω
ắgnō 		ᾰ̓́γνοι
ắgnoi
Notes:
  • This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

  • ? ἄγονον (ágonon)

Descendants

  • → Old Armenian: հագնի (hagni)

References

  1. ^ Strömberg, Reinhold (1940) Griechische Pflanzennamen‎[1], Gothenburg, page 154
  2. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄγνος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 13

Further reading

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