οὐρανόθεν

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 6 March 2019

Etymology

οὐρανός (ouranós) +‎ -θεν (-then)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /uː.ra.nó.tʰen/ → /u.raˈno.θen/ → /u.raˈno.θen/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /uː.ra.nó.tʰen/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /u.raˈno.tʰen/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /u.raˈno.θen/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /u.raˈno.θen/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /u.raˈno.θen/

Adverb

οὐρανόθεν • (ouranóthen)

1. from heaven

   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 5.291–294:

     ὣς εἰπὼν σύναγεν νεφέλας, ἐτάραξε δὲ πόντον
     χερσὶ τρίαιναν ἑλών: πάσας δ᾽ ὀρόθυνεν ἀέλλας
     παντοίων ἀνέμων, σὺν δὲ νεφέεσσι κάλυψε
     γαῖαν ὁμοῦ καὶ πόντον: ὀρώρει δ᾽ οὐρανόθεν νύξ.

     hṑs eipṑn súnagen nephélas, etáraxe dè pónton
     khersì tríainan helṓn: pásas d᾽ oróthunen aéllas
     pantoíōn anémōn, sùn dè nephéessi kálupse
     gaîan homoû kaì pónton: orṓrei d᾽ ouranóthen núx.

     So saying he gathered clouds, and shook the seas
     grabbing the trident in his hands; and all the tempests he arose
     and all the winds of every kind, with clouds he covered
     land and sea; the night had fallen from the skies.

Further reading

• “οὐρανόθεν”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• οὐρανόθεν in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “οὐρανόθεν”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press