δή

Forms

δή (dḗ) (discourse particle)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *dḗ, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *de.^[1] Beekes and Frisk see in it perhaps a case form, an instrumental, of a demonstrative, which would be identical with Latin dē (“down from”) and Old Irish dí (“away from”).^[2][3][4] In their view the particle δέ (dé) arose from δή by weakening, while the DGE takes δή as a lengthened form of the other particle.^[2][3][5] Chantraine doubts that the particle originally had a temporal sense.^[6]

It enters more or less fixed combinations such as ἤδη (ḗdē, “already”), ἐπειδή (epeidḗ, “when, since”), δῆθεν (dêthen) and δῆτα (dêta).^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from the sixth line of the Iliad on, and it is frequent in Homer and Hesiod.^[7][8] Like δέ (dé) it usually stands second in its clause, and it gives emphasis: “indeed, truly, just”.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Ionic and Attic it marks emphasis or a progression in the argument, often after adjectives, adverbs, superlatives, pronouns, interrogatives and relatives, and can carry irony.^[6][9] It was combined with καί, ἀλλά, γάρ, γε, μέν and other particles.^[6][9] Tragedy and Plato prefer the emphatic form δῆτα.^[6]

It is common in the Septuagint, more than three hundred times, mostly as an intensive “now, then, at last”.^[10] The New Testament uses it rarely, to draw attention to what is said.^[11][12] Modern Greek keeps it as a learned word only in the phrase και δη (kai di, “and especially”).^[13]

Timeline

• 700s BC – The Iliad uses it from its sixth line on.^[7]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it to resume a narrative after a digression.^[9][5]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses ὡς δή ironically, “as if”.^[9][5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it to resume a train of thought and, with ὡς, to express scepticism.^[9][5]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it to mark a statement as established.^[11][7]
• Modern Greek – The particle survives in the learned phrase και δη (kai di).^[13]

Meanings

Particle

1. Giving emphasis: truly, indeed, really, usually after the word it stresses, as with superlatives (“the very best”), words of quantity and time (νῦν δή “right now”), pronouns (“you of all people”) and imperatives (ἄγε δή “come now”).^[9][14][6]
2. After an indefinite pronoun, stressing vagueness: “some … or other”.^[9]
3. Marking the main clause after a subordinate one: then.^[9]
4. Resuming the narrative after an interruption: so then, well then.^[9]
5. Conveying irony, indignation or doubt, especially ὡς δή with a participle, “as if”.^[9][6]
6. Strengthening another particle or conjunction: ἀλλὰ δή, γὰρ δή, γε δή, μὲν δή; καὶ δή “and indeed”, also “look!”, or in a supposition “suppose now that …”.^[9][6]
7. (Septuagint) With a sense of time: now, already, at length.^[10][1]
8. (New Testament) Marking something as established, “indeed”.^[11][12]

Word family

• δῆθεν (dêthen)
• δήπου (dḗpou)
• δῆτα (dêta)
• ἐπειδή (epeidḗ)
• ἤδη (ḗdē)

Related words

• δέ (dé)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
7. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
10. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
11. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
12. ^ a b United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
13. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
14. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press