εἰμί

See also: εἶμι

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἔμμῐ (émmi) – Aeolic
• ἠμῐ́ (ēmí) – Cretan

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”).

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/ὂντων
		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/ἔοι	εἴη	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	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	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: ἔσομαι/ἔσσομαι Epic

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

• Medieval Byzantine Greek: εἶμαι (eîmai)
• Modern Greek: είμαι (eímai)

References

• 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 (2006–2019)
• εἰμί in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1510 in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920), “Part II: Inflection”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 768, 768 D