εἰ

Forms

εἰ (ei) ^[1] Attic, Ionic and Arcadian have εἰ, Doric and Aeolic αἰ (ai), and Homer has both.^[2][3] Arcadian also has εἰκ (eik), and Cypriot ἤ (ḗ).^[3][4]

Etymology

Beekes, Frisk and Chantraine call its origin uncertain.^[5][4][3] Schwyzer saw an interjection in Doric αἰ (ai) and partly in εἰ, and Brugmann and Thumb assumed beside it a demonstrative εἰ “then”, also in εἶτα (eîta, “then”), originally a locative of the pronominal stem Proto-Indo-European *h₁e-.^[5][4][3] Along these lines Wiktionary takes it as probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)ey, a locative of the demonstrative *ís (“this”), and compares the history of Latin sī (“if”).^[1] The DGE notes that an initial laryngeal in this stem is neither proved nor ruled out.^[6]

Arcadian εἰκ (eik) has been explained as modelled on οὐκ (ouk), which Chantraine finds uncertain, and Schwyzer took Cypriot ἤ (ḗ) as an old instrumental.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from the first book of the Iliad on, and in Hesiod.^[7] Homer uses it in conditions, in wishes, and in commands, where εἰ δ’ ἄγε means “come now!”.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In classical Greek it is the usual word for “if”, with μή as its negative, and for “whether” in indirect questions, where the negative is οὐ.^[2] Wishes take it with the optative, as in Sophocles' “may fate be with me”, or as εἰ γάρ and εἴθε (eíthe).^[2][8][3]

The Septuagint, following Hebrew Biblical Hebrew אִם (ʾim), uses it in oaths whose curse is left unsaid, with the sense “surely not”, and the New Testament keeps this use in Mark.^[9][10] Medieval vernacular Greek still has the conjunction.^[11] In Modern Greek it survives only as a learned word in a few fixed phrases such as ει δυνατόν (ei dynatón, “if possible”).^[12]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses εἰ and αἰ in conditions and wishes and εἰ δ’ ἄγε in commands.^[2][8][3]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles and Euripides use it with the optative in wishes.^[2]
• 5th–4th century BC – Euripides, Aristophanes and Plato have εἰ γὰρ ὤφελον “if only I had”.^[8]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it in conditions, indirect questions and oaths after the Septuagint.^[13][9]
• 1100–1669 – It is still used in medieval texts.^[11]
• Modern Greek – Only learned phrases such as ει δυνατόν (ei dynatón) keep it.^[12]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. (Homer, as an interjection) With an imperative: come now! (εἰ δ’ ἄγε).^[2][8]
2. Introducing a wish, with the optative or a past tense: if only, would that (εἰ γάρ).^[2][8]
3. If, introducing a condition.^[2][8][13]
4. In indirect questions: whether.^[2][9]
5. (Septuagint, New Testament) In oaths with the curse left unsaid: surely not.^[9][10]

Word family

• ἐάν (eán)
• εἴθε (eíthe)
• εἴπερ (eíper)

Related words

• εἶτα (eîta)
• Latin sī

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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
4. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b 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
6. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b c d Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
10. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
11. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
13. ^ a b 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