τίς

See also: τις and -τις

Ancient Greek

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /tís/ → /tis/ → /tis/

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

• Audio (Classical Attic): τίς, τί

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *kʷis. Cognates include Latin quis and Hittite [script needed] (kuiš). Compare its indefinite form τις (tis, “anyone, anything”).

In Attic, the labiovelar *kʷ- becomes τ- before the front vowel ι and by analogy also before ου, ῳ in the genitive and dative singular, but π- before the rounded back vowel ο in most of the related interrogatives listed below.

Gen. sg. τοῦ < τέο < *kʷésyo (then basis for dat. sg. τῷ and gen. pl. τέων) and the paradigm change to n-stem must have started with *τίν < *kʷím elaborated with consonant stem ending, -ᾰ.

Alternative forms

• τίρ (tír) – Laconian, Elean, rhotacism

Pronoun

τῐ́ς • (tís) interrogative (also see indefinite pronoun τὶς or τις)

1. (substantive)
   1. (masculine, feminine) who?
   2. (neuter) what?
2. (adjective) what? which? what kind?

Usage notes

• The neuter nominative/accusative τί (tí) is never elided, but a hiatus is allowed in Attic Greek.
• The stem iota remains short in every declined form.

Inflection

Third declension of τίς, τί

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	τίς	τί		τίνε	τίνε		τίνες	τίνα
Genitive	τίνος, τοῦ	τίνος, τοῦ		τίνοιν	τίνοιν		τίνων	τίνων
Dative	τίνι, τῷ	τίνι, τῷ		τίνοιν	τίνοιν		τίσι(ν)	τίσι(ν)
Accusative	τίνα	τί		τίνε	τίνε		τίνας	τίνα

Third declension of τίς, τί (Homeric)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	τίς	τί		τίνε	τίνε		τίνες	τίνα
Genitive	τέο, τεῦ	τέο, τεῦ		τίνοιν	τίνοιν		τέων	τέων
Dative				τίνοιν	τίνοιν		τίσι(ν)	τίσι(ν)
Accusative	τίνα	τί		τίνε	τίνε		τίνας	τίνα

Synonyms

• (interrogative adjective): ποῖος (poîos)

Derived terms

• τῐ́ (tí)

Related terms

Ancient Greek correlatives ^(edit)

type	interrogative	indefinite	(medial) demonstrative	proximal demonstrative	distal demonstrative	relative	indefinite relative	identity	other
basic	τίς	τις, ἔνιοι	†ὁ, οὗτος	ὅδε	ἐκεῖνος	ὅς	ὅστις	ὁ αὐτός (αὑτός), ὁμός	ἕτερος, ἄλλος
dual	πότερος	πότερος, ποτερός				ὁπότερος
quality	ποῖος	ποιός	†τοῖος, τοιοῦτος	τοιόσδε		οἷος	ὁποῖος	ὅμοιος	ἑτεροῖος, ἀλλοῖος
quantity	πόσος	ποσός	†τόσος, τοσοῦτος	τοσόσδε		ὅσος	ὁπόσος
manner	πῶς	πως	†τώς, †ὥς, οὕτως	ὧδε		ὡς	ὅπως	ὁμῶς	ἑτέρως, ἄλλως
method, path, place	πῇ	πῃ	τῇ, ταύτῃ	τῇδε	ἐκείνῃ	ᾗ	ὅπῃ		ἄλλῃ
place	ποῦ, †πόθι	που, †ποθί	ἐνταῦθα		ἐκεῖ, ἔνθα, †ἐκεῖθι	οὗ, ἔνθα, †ὅθι	ὅπου, †ὁπόθι	αὐτόθι, ὁμοῦ	ἄλλοθι
source	πόθεν	ποθέν	†τόθεν, ἔνθεν, ἐντεῦθεν		ἐκεῖθεν	ὅθεν	ὁπόθεν	†ὁμόθεν	ἄλλοθεν
destination	ποῖ, †πόσε	ποι	ἔνθα, ἐνταῦθα	ἐνθάδε	ἐκεῖσε	οἷ	ὅποι, †ὁπόσε	αὐτόσε, ὁμόσε	ἄλλοσε
time	πότε, πῆμος	ποτέ, ποτε, τοτέ, ἐνίοτε	τότε, τῆμος	τημόσδε		ὅτε, ἦμος	ὁπότε, †ὁππῆμος	ἅμα	ἄλλοτε
exact time	πηνίκα	πηνίκα	†τηνίκα, τηνικαῦτα	τηνικάδε		ἡνίκα	ὁπηνίκα	αὐτίκα
duration of time			τέως			ἕως
size, age	πηλίκος	πηλίκος	†τηλίκος, τηλικοῦτος	τηλικόσδε		ἡλίκος	ὁπηλίκος	ὁμῆλιξ
repetition	ποσάκις, ποσίνδα	ποσάκις	τουτάκις, τόσακις			†ὁσάκις ὁποσάκις	ὁποσάκις
multiplication	ποσαπλάσιος					ὁσαπλάσιος, ὁσαπλασίων
order	πόστος	ποστός					ὁπόστος
† Forms rarely or never used in Classical Attic prose Relative also used in exclamations; either relative or indefinite relative used in indirect questions.

Descendants

• Greek: τι (ti)
• Greek: τις (tis)

Etymology 2

See τις (tis).

Pronoun

τίς • (tís)

1. oxytone form of τις (tis, “someone, anyone”)

Usage notes

Used before another enclitic:

• 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 70b:

  καὶ δὴ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἔθος [Γοργίας] ῡ̔μᾶς εἴθικεν, ἀφόβως τε καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἀποκρῑ́νεσθαι ἐᾱ́ν τίς τι ἔρηται.

  kaì dḕ kaì toûto tò éthos [Gorgías] hūmâs eíthiken, aphóbōs te kaì megaloprepôs apokrī́nesthai eā́n tís ti érētai.

  And furthermore, [Gorgias] has also accustomed you to the habit of answering fearlessly and magnificently if someone asks you something.

Further reading

• τις, τι in Liddell & Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940
• τίς in Liddell & Scott, An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1889
• τίς in Autenrieth, Georg, A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1891
• τίς in Bailly, Anatole, Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette, 1935
• Bauer, Walter et al., A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001
• τίς in Cunliffe, Richard J., A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1924, published 1963
• τίς in Slater, William J., Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1969
• G5100 in Strong, James, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
• Woodhouse, S. C., English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, 1910.
  • announce idem, page 30.
  • inconsistency idem, page 430.
  • which idem, page 976.
  • who idem, page 977.
• Beekes, Robert S. P., Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2010, →ISBN