ὗ
Ancient Greek
Alternative forms
- ὖ (û) (standard, with smooth breathing)
Etymology
From the long version of the vowel sound it was used to represent, like the names of other vowel letters, preceded by the rough breathing (aspiration) /h/, which was found at the start of all ordinary Ancient Greek words that started with this letter.
Pronunciation
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /(h)y/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /y/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /y/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /i/
- Pronounced as /hy:/ in Koine Greek, reflecting the rare use of rough breathing.
Noun
ὗ • (hû) n (indeclinable)
- (Koine) alternative form of ὖ (û), upsilon (the name of the letter υ)
- Myrinus, Greek Anthology 11.67.1:[1]
- Ὗ τετρηκόσι᾿ ἐστίν· ἔχεις δὲ σὺ τοὺς ἐνιαυτοὺς
δὶς τόσσους, τρυφερὴ Λαῒ κορωνεκάβη,
Σισύφου ὦ μάμμη, καὶ Δευκαλίωνος ἀδελφή.
βάπτε δὲ τὰς λευκάς, καὶ λέγε πᾶσι τατᾶ.- Hû tetrēkósi’ estín; ékheis dè sù toùs eniautoùs
dìs tóssous, trupherḕ Laï̀ korōnekábē,
Sisúphou ô mámmē, kaì Deukalíōnos adelphḗ.
bápte dè tàs leukás, kaì lége pâsi tatâ.
- 1918 translation by W. R. Paton
- The letter υ signifies four hundred, but your years are twice as much, my tender Lais, as old as a crow and Hecuba put together, grandmother of Sisyphus and sister of Deucalion. But dye your white hair and say “tata” to everyone.
- Hû tetrēkósi’ estín; ékheis dè sù toùs eniautoùs
- Ὗ τετρηκόσι᾿ ἐστίν· ἔχεις δὲ σὺ τοὺς ἐνιαυτοὺς
- 6th century AD, Stephanus of Byzantium, Greek Anthology 9.385.20:[2]
- ὗ, μακάρων ἔρις ὦρτο, φέρει δ᾽ ἐπὶ κάρτος Ἀχαιοῖς.
- hû, makárōn éris ôrto, phérei d’ epì kártos Akhaioîs.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- ὗ, μακάρων ἔρις ὦρτο, φέρει δ᾽ ἐπὶ κάρτος Ἀχαιοῖς.
Usage notes
The Ancient Greek name of the letter upsilon is usually written ὖ (û), with a smooth breathing, but ὗ (hû), with a rough breathing, appears as a less common alternative form of the letter-name. Evidence for the aspirated pronunciation also exists in the form of the traditional name ϩⲉ ("He") of the corresponding Coptic letter Ⲩ, and a spelling הוה found in a Hebrew-script fragment listing the names of Greek letters.[3]
Derived terms
- ῡ̔οειδής (hūoeidḗs)
See also
- Appendix:Greek alphabet
- ὖ ψιλόν
References
Further reading
- “Υυ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- M. Triantafyllidis, Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek – In ancient Greek pronunciation, υ was pronounced with rough breathing, though this was later dropped in most forms.