Ἕλλην

See also: Έλλην

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Μost probably a derivation of Ἑλλοί (Helloí) or Σελλοί (Selloí), the Greek inhabitants of the area around the sanctuary of Dodona (Δωδώνη (Dōdṓnē). The ultimate origin is unknown, possibly Pre-Greek. More at Hellenes.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /hél.lɛːn/ → /ˈel.lin/ → /ˈe.lin/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /hél.lɛːn/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)el.le̝n/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈel.lin/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈel.lin/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈe.lin/

Noun

Ἕλλην • (Héllēn) m (genitive Ἕλληνος); third declension

1. Greek, one who is from Greece or speaks Greek.
   • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 82b:

     Σωκράτης: Ἕλλην μέν ἐστι καὶ ἑλληνίζει;
     Μένων: πάνυ γε σφόδρα, οἰκογενής γε.

     Sōkrátēs: Héllēn mén esti kaì hellēnízei?
     Ménōn: pánu ge sphódra, oikogenḗs ge.

     Socrates: He is a Greek, I suppose, and speaks Greek?
     Meno: Very much so, in fact home-bred.

2. One who participates in Greek culture.
3. Often used in Jewish and Christian literature as referring to any non-Jew: Gentile
   • Mark 7.26 :

     ἦν δὲ ἡ γυνὴ Ἑλληνίς Συροφοινίσσα τῷ γένει.

     ên dè hē gunḕ Hellēnís Surophoiníssa tôi génei.

     The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation.

4. pagan

Declension

Third declension of ὁ Ἕλλην; τοῦ Ἕλληνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ Ἕλλην ho Héllēn	τὼ Ἕλληνε tṑ Héllēne	οἱ Ἕλληνες hoi Héllēnes
Genitive	τοῦ Ἕλληνος toû Héllēnos	τοῖν Ἑλλήνοιν toîn Hellḗnoin	τῶν Ἑλλήνων tôn Hellḗnōn
Dative	τῷ Ἕλληνῐ tôi Héllēni	τοῖν Ἑλλήνοιν toîn Hellḗnoin	τοῖς Ἕλλησῐ / Ἕλλησῐν toîs Héllēsi(n)
Accusative	τὸν Ἕλληνᾰ tòn Héllēna	τὼ Ἕλληνε tṑ Héllēne	τοὺς Ἕλληνᾰς toùs Héllēnas
Vocative	Ἕλλην Héllēn	Ἕλληνε Héllēne	Ἕλληνες Héllēnes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Proper noun

Ἕλλην • (Héllēn) m (genitive Ἕλληνος); third declension

1. Hellen, the mythical patriarch of the Greeks.

Declension

Third declension of ὁ Ἕλλην; τοῦ Ἕλληνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Ἕλλην ho Héllēn
Genitive	τοῦ Ἕλληνος toû Héllēnos
Dative	τῷ Ἕλληνῐ tôi Héllēni
Accusative	τὸν Ἕλληνᾰ tòn Héllēna
Vocative	Ἕλλην Héllēn
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Ἑλληνάρχης (Hellēnárkhēs)
• Ἑλληνίζω (Hellēnízō)
• Ἑλληνικός (Hellēnikós)
• Ἑλλάνιος (Hellánios)
• Ἑλλανίς (Hellanís)
• Ἑλλανισμός (Hellanismós)
• Ἑλλανιστί (Hellanistí)
• Ἑλληνογαλάται (Hellēnogalátai)
• Ἑλληνοδίκαι (Hellēnodíkai)
• Ἑλληνίς (Hellēnís)

Related terms

• Ἑλλάς (Hellás)

Descendants

• Greek: Έλλην (Éllin)
• → English: Hellen (proper noun), Hellene (noun) (learned)
• → Latin: Hellēn
  • Asturian: helenu
  • Catalan: hel·lè
  • French: hellène
  • Italian: elleno
  • Portuguese: heleno
  • Romanian: elen
  • Spanish: heleno
• → Old Georgian: ელინი (elini)

Further reading

• “Ἕλλην”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἕλλην”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• Ἕλλην in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• G1672 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, pages 1,011, 1,012
• Nestle, Eberhard, Aland, Kurt with et al. (2012) Novum Testamentum Graece‎^[2], 28th revised edition, 4th corrected printing edition, Stuttgart: Stuttgart Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, →ISBN

Greek

Alternative forms

• Έλλην (Éllin)

Etymology

From Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek Ἕλλην (Héllēn).

Noun

Ἕλλην • (Héllēn) m (plural Ἕλληνες)

1. Katharevousa form of Έλληνας (Éllinas, “Greek man”)