οὐρανός

See also Οὐρανός

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ὠρανός (Doric, Boeotian)
• ὄρανος (Aeolic)

Etymology

Uncertain. Seems to come from an older * ϝορσανός. If so, could be related to Sanskrit वर्बति (varṣati, “rain”). Could also be from οὑρέω (houreō, “make water, urinate”). Aristotle claimed it derives from ὅρος (oros, “limit”) and ἄνω (anō, “up”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical): IPA: [oːranós]
• (Koine): IPA: [uːranˈo̞s]
• (Byzantine): IPA: [uranˈos]

Noun

οὐρανός (genitive οὐρανοῦ) m, second declension; (ouranos)

1. the vaulted sky, on which the stars were attached and the sun traveled: sky, heaven
2. the region above this vault, the home of the gods
3. (philosophy) the universe
4. anything shaped like the sky: vaulted ceiling, tent

Inflection

Second declension of οὐρᾰνός, οὐρᾰνοῦ

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	οὐρᾰνός	οὐρᾰνώ	οὐρᾰνοί
Genitive	οὐρᾰνοῦ	οὐρᾰνοῖν	οὐρᾰνῶν
Dative	οὐρᾰνῷ	οὐρᾰνοῖν	οὐρᾰνοῖς
Accusative	οὐρᾰνόν	οὐρᾰνώ	οὐρᾰνούς
Vocative	οὐρᾰνέ	οὐρᾰνώ	οὐρᾰνοί

Classical authors did not use the plural forms, which are not seen until later Greek, especially in Christian writings such as the New Testament.

Derived terms

• Οὐρανός
• Οὐρανία

References

• LSJ
• BDAG
• Strong’s concordance number: G3772