εἰμί

See also: εἶμι and εἰμι

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἔμμῐ (émmi) – Aeolic
• ἠμῐ́ (ēmí) – Cretan
• εἶμαι (eîmai) – Byzantine
• εἴμ’ (eím’), εἰμ’ (eim’) – apocopic
• εἰμι (eimi) – unstressed

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *ehmi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésmi (“I am, I exist”). Cognate with Old English eom (whence English am), Latin sum, Sanskrit अस्मि (ásmi), Old Armenian եմ (em), and so on. More at *h₁es- (“to be, exist”). Not to be confused with εἶμι (eîmi) (to go).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /eː.mí/ → /iˈmi/ → /iˈmi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /eː.mí/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /iˈmi/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /iˈmi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /iˈmi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /iˈmi/

• Audio (Classical Attic): εἰμί, ἔσομαι, ἦν, εἶναι

  (file)

Verb

εἰμῐ́ • (eimí)

1. To be, exist; (of persons) live
   1. (of events) To happen
   2. To be the case
2. (copulative) To be [+nominative = something, someone]
3. (third person, impersonal) it is possible [+infinitive = that ...]

Usage notes

• Used as Aorist: ἐγενόμην (egenómēn) and as Present Perfect: γέγονα (gégona) from verb γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “come into being”)
• Hellenistic Koine present imperative 2nd person singular: ἔσο (éso)
• Postclassical Imperfect 1st person singular: ἢμην (ḕmēn)
• Verbal adjective: συνεστέον (sunestéon)

Inflection

   Present: εἰμῐ́

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	εἰμῐ́	εἶ	ἐστί/ἐστίν	ἐστόν	ἐστόν	ἐσμέν	ἐστέ	εἰσί/εἰσίν
	subjunctive	ὦ	ᾖς	ᾖ	ἦτον	ἦτον	ὦμεν	ἦτε	ὦσι/ὦσιν
	optative	εἴην	εἴης	εἴη	εἴητον/εἶτον	εἰήτην/εἴτην	εἴημεν/εἶμεν	εἴητε/εἶτε	εἴησαν/εἶεν
	imperative		ἴσθι	ἔστω	ἔστον	ἔστων		ἔστε	ἔστων/ἔστωσαν/ὄντων
		active
infinitive		εἶναι
participle	m	ὤν
	f	οὖσα
	n	ὄν
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

   Present: εἰμί (Epic)

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	εἰμί	ἐσσί/εἶς	ἐστί/ἐστίν	ἐστόν	ἐστόν	εἰμέν	ἐστέ	εἰσί(ν)/ἔᾱσι(ν)
	subjunctive	ἔω	ᾖς	ἔῃ/ἔῃσι/ᾖσι				ἦτε	ἔωσι(ν)/ὦσι(ν)
	optative	εἴην	εἴης/ἔοις	εἴη/ἔοι	εἴητον/εἶτον	εἰήτην/εἴτην	εἴημεν/εἶμεν	εἴητε/εἶτε	εἴησαν/εἶεν
	imperative		ἔσσο	ἔστω	ἔστον	ἔστων		ἔστε	ἔστων
		active
infinitive		εἶναι/ἔμμεναι/ἔμεναι/ἔμμεν/ἔμεν
participle	m	ἐών/ὤν
	f	ἐοῦσα/οὖσα
	n	ἐόν/ὄν
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

   Imperfect: ἦ/ἦν

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	ἦ/ἦν	ἦσθα	ἦν	ἦστον	ἤστην	ἦμεν	ἦτε	ἦσαν
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

   Imperfect: ἦα/ἔᾱ/ἔον/ἔσκον (Epic)

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	ἦα/ἔᾱ/ἔον/ἔσκον	ἔησθα/ἦσθα	ἦεν/ἔην/ἤην/ἦν/ἔσκε(ν)	ἤστον	ἤστην	ἦμεν	ἦτε	ἦσαν/ἔσαν
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

   Future: ἔσομαι

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
middle	indicative	ἔσομαι	ἔσῃ, ἔσει	ἔσεται/ἔσται	ἔσεσθον	ἔσεσθον	ἐσόμεθᾰ	ἔσεσθε	ἔσονται
	optative	ἐσοίμην	ἔσοιο	ἔσοιτο	ἔσοισθον	ἐσοίσθην	ἐσοίμεθᾰ	ἔσοισθε	ἔσοιντο
					middle
infinitive					ἔσεσθαι
participle	m				ἐσόμενος
	f				ἐσομένη
	n				ἐσόμενον
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

   Future: ἔσσομαι (Epic)

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
middle	indicative	ἔσσομαι	ἔσσεαι	ἔσσεται/ἐσσεῖται	ἔσσεσθον	ἔσσεσθον	ἐσσόμε(σ)θᾰ	ἔσσεσθε	ἔσσονται
	optative	ἐσσοίμην	ἔσσοιο	ἔσσοιτο	ἔσσοισθον	ἐσσοίσθην	ἐσσοίμε(σ)θᾰ	ἔσσοισθε	ἐσσοίᾰτο
					middle
infinitive					ἔσσεσθαι
participle	m				ἐσσόμενος
	f				ἐσσομένη
	n				ἐσσόμενον
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms are based on conjecture. Use with caution. For more details, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

Synonyms

• (it is possible): ἔξεστι (éxesti)

Derived terms

• ἄπειμι (ápeimi)
• ἀπουσία (apousía)
• αὐτοουσία (autoousía)
• ἔνειμι (éneimi)
• ἔξειμι (éxeimi)
• ἔξεστι (éxesti)
• ἐξουσία (exousía)
• ἔπειμι (épeimi)
• ἐπιούσιος (epioúsios)
• ἐπιπρόσειμι (epipróseimi)
• ἐπισυμπάρειμι (episumpáreimi)
• ἐπισύνειμι (episúneimi)
• καταπερίειμι (kataperíeimi)
• μέτειμι (méteimi)
• μετουσία (metousía)
• οὐρανουσία (ouranousía)
• οὐσία (ousía)
• πάρειμι (páreimi)
• παρουσία (parousía)
• περίειμι (períeimi)
• περιουσία (periousía)
• πρόειμι (próeimi)
• προένειμι (proéneimi)
• προέξειμι (proéxeimi)
• πρόσειμι (próseimi)
• προσπάρειμι (prospáreimi)
• συμπάρειμι (sumpáreimi)
• συμπρόσειμι (sumpróseimi)
• σύνειμι (súneimi)
• συνένειμι (sunéneimi)
• συνουσία (sunousía)
• συνύπειμι (sunúpeimi)
• ὕπειμι (húpeimi)
• ὑπένειμι (hupéneimi)
• ὑπέρειμι (hupéreimi)
• ὤν (ṓn)

 

Descendants

• Byzantine Greek: εἶμαι (eîmai)
  • Modern Greek: είμαι (eímai)
• Mariupol Greek: и́ми (ími)

Further reading

• “εἰμί”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “εἰμί”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “εἰμί”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• εἰμί 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
• εἰμί in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• εἰμί in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2022)
• “εἰμί”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1510 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920), “Part II: Inflection”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 768, 768 D