Etymologically
Log in

νέω

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word νέω

νέω1 swim

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
700s BC Homer, Iliad
Inherited from
Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂-
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂-

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /né.ɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈne.o/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈne.o/[1]

Forms

νέω (néō); infinitive νεῖν, Epic imperfect ἔννεον, aorist ἔνευσα, perfect νένευκα, future νεύσομαι.[2][3][4]

Etymology

The word for "to swim" is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂- (“to swim, flow”), the root that is clearer in the related present νήχω (nḗkhō).[3][5][1] Beekes and Frisk explain the vowel of νέω, νεῦσαι (neûsai) as a rhyme formation after πλέω (pléō), πλεῦσαι (pleûsai) "to sail", while Wiktionary calls it an alteration of νάω (nā́ō) "to flow".[3][5][1] The Homeric imperfect ἔννεον (énneon) points to an old initial *sn-.[6][3]

Cognate with Sanskrit स्नाति (snā́ti, “bathes”) and Latin nō (“I swim”).[3][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it of men swimming: in the Iliad the Trojans swim in the river, and in the Odyssey Odysseus swims with his hands.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

The verb kept its sense: Epicharmus, Herodotus and Thucydides speak of men who could not swim.[2][4] Aristophanes uses it of a man floating in shoes too big for him, as if they were boats.[2][4] The verbal noun νεῦσις (neûsis) "swimming" appears in Aristotle.[3]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for swimming.[6][7]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides speak of men unable to swim.[2][4]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes jokes of floating in oversize shoes, and Plato also uses the verb.[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To swim.[2][4]
  2. (figurative) To float about (in shoes that are too big).[2][4]

Word family

  • νεῦσις (neûsis)
  • διανέω (dianéō)
  • ἐκνέω (eknéō)

νέω2 spin

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
700s BC Homer, Odyssey
Inherited from
Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /né.ɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈne.o/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈne.o/[1]

Forms

νέω (néō); 3rd person singular νῇ, future νήσω, aorist ἔνησα; also νήθω (nḗthō).[2][3][4]

Etymology

The word for "to spin" is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁- (“to spin”).[3][1] The Aeolic imperfect ἔννη (énnē) and Homeric ἐΰννητος (eúnnētos) "well spun" point to an original initial *sn-.[3][5] Beekes takes the 3rd plural νῶσι (nôsi) as a thematized form of an old athematic verb.[3]

Cognate with Latin neō (“to spin”), Old Irish sníid (“spins, stitches”) and, without the s-, Old High German nāen (“to sew”); Russian нить (nitʹ, “thread”) and Lithuanian nýtis (“warp thread”) show an i-extended form.[3][5][2] The PIE derivative that gave νεῦρον (neûron) "sinew" belongs to the same root.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Odyssey the aorist middle is used of the Fates, who spin out what will befall a man at his birth.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Hesiod uses it of a spider spinning its threads.[2][4] In Attic comedy it is the ordinary word for spinning thread, and Plato speaks of the products of spinning.[2][4] Beside it Attic had the extended present νήθω (nḗthō).[3] The noun νῆμα (nêma) "thread" survives as Modern Greek νήμα (níma), a learned word.[8][3]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Odyssey uses it of the Fates spinning a man's lot.[2][6]
  • Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it of a spider's web.[2][4]
  • 5th century BC – Sophocles and Aristophanes use it of spinning robes and thread.[2][4]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Plato speaks of spun products.[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To spin (thread, a web); middle, of the Fates, to spin out (a man's lot).[2][4]

Word family

  • νῆμα (nêma)
  • νῆσις (nêsis)
  • νῆτρον (nêtron)
  • νήθω (nḗthō)

Usage notes

LSJ records two more words with this spelling.[2] One, a contraction of νηέω (nēéō), means "to heap up", as when Herodotus speaks of piling up a pyre; in the passive it means "to be stuffed".[2][1] The other is Doric, in the phrase ἐς νέω "next year", the same as εἰς νέωτα (néōta).[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v 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 h i j k l m n 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  6. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  8. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Νέω.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%CE%BD%CE%AD%CF%89. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·