ναί

Forms

ναί (naí) ^[1]

Etymology

It is a by-form from Ancient Greek νή (nḗ, “yes, by”), with which it alternates as the dialect forms αἰ (ai), ἠ (ē) and εἰ (ei) of “if” do.^[1][2] Frisk suggests that Tocharian B nai (“surely”) could be a formal match.^[2] Like that particle, it is usually connected with the Indo-European demonstrative Proto-Indo-European *h₁enos (“that one”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it is an emphatic “truly”, mostly followed by δή (“truly, all this you have said rightly”), and in Achilles' oath in the first book of the Iliad it is followed by μά: “yes, by this staff”.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In the 5th century BC it became the usual “yes” in answer to a question, in Aeschylus, Sophocles and Plato, and in Attic dialogue ναί, ἀλλά “yes, but” gives a qualified assent.^[5][6] It was still used in oaths, alone with the accusative or with μά, as in Pindar and in Aristophanes' “by Kore”.^[5][7] Aristotle speaks of answering “yes or no”.^[5]

In the New Testament it answers questions and confirms statements (“yes, I tell you”), and the Letter of James has “let your yes be yes and your no be no”.^[8] It continues in Modern Greek as ναι (nai), the ordinary word for “yes”.^[1][9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it as an emphatic “truly” and in an oath.^[4][5]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar introduces an oath with it.^[7][10]
• 5th century BC – Aeschylus and Sophocles use it as “yes” in answers.^[5][6][10]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle speaks of answering “yes or no”.^[5][10]
• 1st century AD – The Gospels use it in answers, and the Letter of James in the saying about yes and no.^[8]
• Modern Greek – It survives as ναι (nai), “yes”.^[1][9]

Meanings

Particle

1. Truly, verily: strong affirmation, often with δή or μήν.^[5][4]
2. (in oaths, with μά or the accusative) Yes, by…^[5][6]
3. (in answers) Yes; with ἀλλά, yes, but.^[5][6][8]
4. Introducing an emphatic repetition of one's own words: “yes, you”.^[6]

Usage notes

In Attic the oath particle is usually νή (nḗ) (Boeotian νεί (neí)), while ναί is the answer “yes”; both forms are used in oaths.^[2][6][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
3. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
4. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: De Gruyter
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge