οὖν

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ὦν (ôn) — Doric, Ionic, Aeolic, Boeotian
• οὖν (oûn) — Ionic, Thessalian

Etymology

According to Beekes, (2010) "the relation between οὖν and ὦν is unclear. Unconvincing explanations in Brugmann-Thumb 1913: 633 and in Schwyzer 1950: 586f. On οὖν in Homer, cf. Reynen Glotta 36 (1957): Iff. and Reynen Glotta 37 (1958): 67ff."

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ûːn/ → /un/ → /un/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ûːn/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /un/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /un/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /un/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /un/

• • (classical)

    (file)

Particle

οὖν • (oûn) (discourse particle) (Attic, Epic)

1. then (implying temporal sequence)
2. therefore (implying causal sequence)
3. Marker of the continuation of a previously interrupted line of thought: "As I was saying..."
4. Added to indefinite pronoun or adverb, such as ὁστισοῦν (hostisoûn), to make it more general: whoever, whatever; whosoever

Derived terms

• γοῦν (goûn)

References

• “οὖν”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “οὖν”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “οὖν”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• οὖν in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• 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
• οὖν in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “οὖν”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G3767 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.
  • accordingly idem, page 7.
  • consequently idem, page 163.
  • now idem, page 562.
  • so idem, page 790.
  • then idem, page 865.
  • therefore idem, page 865.