ἔθνος

See also: έθνος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

PIE word
*swé

Probably from Ancient Greek ἔθω (éthō, “I am accustomed, wont (to something)”) + -νος (-nos), equivalent to Proto-Indo-European *swedʰ-no-, expanded from the reflexive pronoun Proto-Indo-European *swé (“self”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, set”). For semantic development of senses 3 and 4, compare Hebrew גּוֹי (goi).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /é.tʰnos/ → /ˈe.θnos/ → /ˈe.θnos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /é.tʰnos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈe.tʰnos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.θnos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.θnos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈe.θnos/

Noun

ἔθνος • (éthnos) n (genitive ἔθνεος or ἔθνους); third declension

1. group of people: band, tribe, kin, nation
2. group of animals: flock, herd
3. (later, in the plural) foreign nations, barbarians
4. (Jewish and Christian usage, in the plural) gentiles, heathen
5. class, caste

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ ἔθνος; τοῦ ἔθνους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἔθνος tò éthnos	τὼ ἔθνει tṑ éthnei	τᾰ̀ ἔθνη tằ éthnē
Genitive	τοῦ ἔθνους toû éthnous	τοῖν ἐθνοῖν toîn ethnoîn	τῶν ἐθνῶν tôn ethnôn
Dative	τῷ ἔθνει tôi éthnei	τοῖν ἐθνοῖν toîn ethnoîn	τοῖς ἔθνεσῐ / ἔθνεσῐν toîs éthnesĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἔθνος tò éthnos	τὼ ἔθνει tṑ éthnei	τᾰ̀ ἔθνη tằ éthnē
Vocative	ἔθνος éthnos	ἔθνει éthnei	ἔθνη éthnē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of τὸ ἔθνος; τοῦ ἔθνεος (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἔθνος tò éthnos	τὼ ἔθνει / ἔθνεε tṑ éthnei / éthnee	τᾰ̀ ἔθνεᾰ tằ éthneă
Genitive	τοῦ ἔθνεος / ἔθνευς toû éthneos / éthneus	τοῖν ἐθνέοιν toîn ethnéoin	τῶν ἐθνέων tôn ethnéōn
Dative	τῷ ἔθνει / ἔθνεῐ̈ tôi éthnei / éthneĭ̈	τοῖν ἐθνέοιν toîn ethnéoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν ἔθνεσῐ / ἔθνεσῐν toîsĭ(n) éthnesĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἔθνος tò éthnos	τὼ ἔθνει / ἔθνεε tṑ éthnei / éthnee	τᾰ̀ ἔθνεᾰ tằ éthneă
Vocative	ἔθνος éthnos	ἔθνει / ἔθνεε éthnei / éthnee	ἔθνεᾰ éthneă
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ἐθνάρχης (ethnárkhēs)
• ἐθναρχία (ethnarkhía)
• ἐθνηδόν (ethnēdón)
• ἐθνικός (ethnikós)
• ἐθνίτης (ethnítēs)
• ἐθνοφύλαξ (ethnophúlax)

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲉⲑⲛⲟⲥ (ethnos)
• → English: ethnos
• Greek: έθνος (éthnos)
• → Russian: э́тнос (étnos)

from the spoken alternative form ἕθνος (héthnos):

• Aramaic:
  • Classical Syriac: ܗܬܢܘܣ (haṯnōs)
• → Coptic: ϩⲉⲑⲛⲟⲥ (hethnos)
• → Old Armenian: հեթանոս (hetʻanos)
  • Armenian: հեթանոս (hetʻanos)

Further reading

• “ἔθνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἔθνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἔθνος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἔθνος 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
• ἔθνος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἔθνος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “ἔθνος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1484 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • caste idem, page 117.
  • class idem, page 135.
  • folk idem, page 332.
  • nation idem, page 551.
  • order idem, page 578.
  • people idem, page 604.
  • race idem, page 667.
  • tribe idem, page 894.