ἀ-
Ancient Greek
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /a/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /a/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /a/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /a/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /a/
Etymology 1
[edit]From Proto-Hellenic *ə-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. The form ἀν- (an-) appears when followed by a laryngeal and a vowel: that is, in an open syllable of the *n̥HV- form. Akin to νη- (nē-), νᾱ- (nā-) and νω- (nō-), which are closed-syllable reflexes of the *n̥h₁C-, *n̥h₂C-, *n̥h₃C- forms, respectively.
Cognate with Old English and English un-, Latin in-, Sanskrit अ- (a-), Old Irish in-, an-, Armenian ան- (an-), and Albanian e-.
Alternative forms
[edit]- ἀν- (an-) — before vowels
- νη- (nē-), νᾱ- (nā-), νω- (nō-) — before a Proto-Indo-European laryngeal and consonant
Prefix
[edit]ᾰ̓- • (ă-)
- The alpha privativum, used to make words that have a sense opposite to the word (or stem) to which the prefix is attached. It is also known as privative a and alpha privative; a-, ab-, an-, anti-, contra-, de-, dis-, ex-, il-, im-, in-, ob-, ne-, non-, not, un-
Usage notes
[edit]The alpha is usually short, but long when added to a stem that begins with three short syllables. Thus, words such as ἀδάματος (adámatos) begin with long alpha in Epic, and frequently also in Lyric, Tragic, or Comic poetry. ἀθάνατος (athánatos) and all its compounds always have long alpha.
Derived terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]Etymology 2
[edit]See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Prefix
[edit]ᾰ̓- • (ă-)
- alternative form of ἁ- (ha-)
Etymology 3
[edit](This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Prefix
[edit]ᾰ̓- • (ă-)
- The alpha intensivum, used to strengthen the force of compounds.
References
[edit]- “ἀ-”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “ἀ-”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- free idem, page 343.
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1
- Ancient Greek 1-syllable words
- Ancient Greek terms with IPA pronunciation
- Ancient Greek terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *né
- Ancient Greek terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Hellenic
- Ancient Greek terms inherited from Proto-Hellenic
- Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Ancient Greek lemmas
- Ancient Greek prefixes