εἰμί
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Ancient Greek
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- ἔμμῐ (émmi) — Aeolic
- ἠμῐ́ (ēmí) — Cretan
- εἶμαι (eîmai) — Byzantine
- εἴμ’ (eím’), εἰμ’ (eim’) — apocopic
- εἰμι (eimi) — unstressed
Etymology
[edit]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
[edit]- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /eː.mí/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /iˈmi/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /iˈmi/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /iˈmi/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /iˈmi/
Verb
[edit]εἰμῐ́ • (eimí)
- to be, exist; (of persons) live
- (of events) to happen
- to be the case
- a. 1452/1454, Plethon, “λϛʹ. Προσρήσεών τε καὶ ὕμνων χρήσεως διάταξις. [CHAPTER 36. Instruction for the use of addresses and hymns]”, in Νομων Συγγραφη. [Book of Laws][1], translation of original by John Opsopaus, PhD:
- ...ἐάν δ’ ἱερέων μηδεὶς παρῇ, τὸν τῆς προσκυνήσεως κατάρξαντα ἰδιώτην, καὶ ταύτην ἐπιλέγειν τὴν εὐχήν, οὐκέτι μέντοι ἐπαίροντα τὼ χεῖρε· πρὸς δέ, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑμῖν, ἡμῖν λέγοντα· καὶ τοὺς λοιπούς· ‘εἶεν· εἶεν· εἶεν’, ὑποκριναμένους, οὕτω ἀπολύεσθαι·
- ...eán d’ hieréōn mēdeìs parêi, tòn tês proskunḗseōs katárxanta idiṓtēn, kaì taútēn epilégein tḕn eukhḗn, oukéti méntoi epaíronta tṑ kheîre; pròs dé, kaì antì toû humîn, hēmîn légonta; kaì toùs loipoús; ‘eîen; eîen; eîen’, hupokrinaménous, hoútō apolúesthai;
- ...But if no priest is present, the individual who began the adoration also adds the prayer, but without raising [his] hands, in addition saying “us” instead of “you”; and the rest, answering “Be it so! Be it so! Be it so!”, are thus released.
- (copulative) to be [with nominative ‘something, someone’]
- (third person, impersonal) it is possible [with infinitive ‘that ...’]
Usage notes
[edit]- Used as Aorist: ἐγενόμην (egenómēn) and as Present Perfect: γέγονα (gégona) from verb γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “come into being”)
- Postclassical/Hellenistic Koine present imperative 2nd person singular: ἔσο (éso), and 3rd: ἤτω (ḗtō), Imperfect 1st person singular: ἤμην (ḗmēn)
- Verbal adjective: συνεστέον (sunestéon)
- All forms of the present active indicative except 2nd person singular (εἶ) are enclitic.
Inflection
[edit] Present: εἰμί
number | singular | dual | plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
first | second | third | second | third | first | second | third | ||||||
active | indicative | εἰμί | 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(ν)/ᾖσι(ν) | 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.
|
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 |
ἔσται/ἔσεται | 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.
|
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
[edit]- (it is possible): ἔξεστι (éxesti)
Derived terms
[edit]- 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
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “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 (2006–2024)
- “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
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language[2], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- “εἰμί”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, 2011
Categories:
- Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Ancient Greek terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁es-
- Ancient Greek terms inherited from Proto-Hellenic
- Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Hellenic
- Ancient Greek terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Ancient Greek 2-syllable words
- Ancient Greek terms with IPA pronunciation
- Ancient Greek terms with audio pronunciation
- Ancient Greek lemmas
- Ancient Greek verbs
- Ancient Greek oxytone terms
- Ancient Greek terms with quotations
- Ancient Greek copulative verbs
- Ancient Greek impersonal verbs
- Ancient Greek verbs ending in -μῐ