movable nu
{{Short description|Ancient Greek ν appended to some grammatical forms}}
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In ancient Greek grammar, movable nu, movable N or ephelcystic nu ({{langx|grc|νῦ ἐφελκυστικόν}} nû ephelkustikón, literally "nu dragged onto" or "attracted to") is a letter nu (written {{lang|grc|ν}}; the Greek equivalent of the letter n) placed on the end of some grammatical forms in Attic or Ionic Greek. It is used to avoid two vowels in a row (hiatus) and to create a long syllable in poetic meter.
Grammatical forms
Movable nu may appear at the end of certain forms of verbs, nouns, and adjectives. In grammatical paradigms, it is usually written with a parenthesis to indicate that it is optional.
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan="3" | third person plural present and future | ||
|---|---|---|
| λέγουσι(ν) | "they say"
| rowspan=2 | present | |
| τιθέασι(ν) | "they place" | |
| λέξουσι(ν) | "they will say" | future |
| colspan="3" | third person singular perfect and past | ||
| τέθνηκε(ν) | "he has died", "is dead" | perfect |
| ἔλεγε(ν) | "he was saying" | imperfect |
| εἶπε(ν) | "he said" | aorist |
| ἐτεθνήκει(ν) | "he had died", "was dead" | pluperfect |
| colspan="3" | third person singular present (athematic verbs) | ||
| τίθησι(ν) | colspan="2" | "he places" | |
| ἐστί(ν) | colspan="2" | "it is" | |
| colspan="3" | dative plural | ||
| Ἕλλησι(ν) | colspan="2" | "to Greeks" | |
| πᾶσι(ν) | colspan="2" | "to all" | |
| ἀνθρώποισι(ν) | "to men" | Epic and Ionic |
| κούρῃσι(ν) | "to girls" | Epic and Ionic |
Usage
Movable nu is used before words starting in a vowel to prevent hiatus.
- πᾶσιν ἔλεγεν ἐκεῖνα "he said those things to everyone"
It is often omitted before consonants, but may be included there to produce a heavy syllable where the poetic meter requires one
- πᾶσι λέγουσι ταῦτα "they say these things to everyone"
- πᾶσι λέγουσιν ταῦτα "they say these things to everyone" with the dactylic pattern – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ×
It is often used at the end of clauses or verses.
See also
- Nu (letter)
- Ancient Greek
- Attic Greek
- Ionic Greek
- {{lang|de|Eifeler Regel}}, a similar rule in German dialects
Sources
- Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar, [https://web.archive.org/web/20170625161110/http://www.ccel.org/s/smyth/grammar/html/smyth_1e_uni.htm#134 par. 134].
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