ἀνάγκη

See also: Ἀνάγκη and ανάγκη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀναγκαίη (anankaíē) — Epic, Ionic

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, though likely from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach, attain”) and cognate with Celtic terms like Old Irish éicen (“force, necessity”) (see there for more cognates), as well as perhaps Proto-Germanic *anhtō (“persecution”). A substrate origin is also possible, though not favored.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.náŋ.kɛː/ → /aˈnaɲ.ɟi/ → /aˈnaɲ.ɟi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.náŋ.kɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈnaŋ.ke̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈnaɲ.ɟi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈnaɲ.ɟi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈnaɲ.ɟi/

Noun

ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκη • (anánkē) f (genitive ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκης); first declension

1. force
2. constraint
3. necessity

Declension

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκη; τῆς ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκη hē anánkē	τὼ ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκᾱ tṑ anánkā	αἱ ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκαι hai anánkai
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκης tês anánkēs	τοῖν ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκαιν toîn anánkain	τῶν ᾰ̓νᾰγκῶν tôn anankôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκῃ têi anánkēi	τοῖν ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκαιν toîn anánkain	ταῖς ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκαις taîs anánkais
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκην tḕn anánkēn	τὼ ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκᾱ tṑ anánkā	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκᾱς tā̀s anánkās
Vocative	ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκη anánkē	ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκᾱ anánkā	ᾰ̓νᾰ́γκαι anánkai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἀναγκάζω (anankázō)
• ἀναγκαῖον (anankaîon)
• ἀναγκαῖος (anankaîos)
• ἀναγκαιότης (anankaiótēs)
• Ἀνάγκη (Anánkē)
• ἀναγκόσῑτος (anankósītos)
• ἀναγκοφαγέω (anankophagéō)
• ἐπανάγκης (epanánkēs)
• κατανάγκη (katanánkē)

 

Descendants

• Greek: ανάγκη (anágki)
• Pontic Greek: ανάγκη (anágki)
  • → Laz: ანანკენი (ananǩeni)
• and see: Ἀνάγκη (Anánkē, “(Goddess of) Fate”)

Further reading

• “ἀνάγκη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀνάγκη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἀνάγκη”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἀνάγκη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀνάγκη in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἀνάγκη in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• G318 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.
  • coercion idem, page 141.
  • compulsion idem, page 154.
  • constraint idem, page 165.
  • exigence idem, page 292.
  • fatality idem, page 309.
  • force idem, page 335.
  • incumbent idem, page 431.
  • natural ties idem, page 552.
  • necessary idem, page 553.
  • necessity idem, page 554.
  • need idem, page 554.
  • obligation idem, page 565.
  • pressure idem, page 637.
  • relationship idem, page 689.
  • tie idem, page 874.
  • urgency idem, page 939.
• “ἀνάγκη”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, 2011