Movable nu
In Ancient Greek grammar, movable nu, movable N or ephelcystic nu (Ancient Greek: νῦ ἐφελκυστικόν nŷ ephelkystikón, literally "nu dragged onto" or "attracted to") is a letter nu (written ν; the Greek equivalent of the letter n) placed on the end of some grammatical forms in Attic or Ionic Greek. It is used to avoid two vowels in a row (hiatus) and to create a long syllable in poetic meter.
Contents
Grammatical forms
Movable nu may appear at the end of certain forms of verbs, nouns, and adjectives. In grammatical paradigms, it is usually written with a parenthesis to indicate that it is optional.
| third person plural present and future | ||
|---|---|---|
| λέγουσι(ν) τιθέασι(ν) |
"they say" "they place" |
present |
| λέξουσι(ν) | "they will say" | future |
| third person singular perfect and past | ||
| τέθνηκε(ν) | "he has died", "is dead" | perfect |
| ἔλεγε(ν) | "he was saying" | imperfect |
| εἶπε(ν) | "he said" | aorist |
| ἐτεθνήκει(ν) | "he had died", "was dead" | pluperfect |
| third person singular present (athematic verbs) |
||
| τίθησι(ν) | "he places" | |
| ἐστί(ν) | "it is" | |
| third declension dative plural | ||
| Ἕλλησι(ν) | "to Greeks" | |
| πᾶσι(ν) | "to all" | |
Usage
Movable nu is used before words starting in a vowel to prevent hiatus.
- πᾶσιν ἔλεγεν ἐκεῖνα "he said those things to everyone"
It is omitted before consonants.
- πᾶσι λέγουσι ταῦτα "they say these things to everyone"
It is often used at the end of clauses or verses.
Sources
Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar, par. 134.
See also
- Nu (letter)
- Ancient Greek
- Eifeler Regel a similar rule in German dialects
