οὗτος

Forms

οὗτος (hoûtos) m, αὕτη (haútē) f, τοῦτο (toûto) n; genitive τούτου, ταύτης, τούτου; neuter plural ταῦτα (taûta); demonstrative pronoun and adjective^[2][3] The deictic οὑτοσί (houtosí) adds the pointing ending -ί.^[1][4][5] Doric feminine αὕτᾱ (haútā), genitive ταύτᾱς (taútās), Doric nominative plural τοῦτοι (toûtoi); Boeotian feminine accusative οὕτᾱν (hoútān); Ionic feminine genitive plural τουτέων (toutéōn).^[3][2]

Etymology

In Beekes's view it is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *so- (“this, that”), with its oblique stem *to-, fused with *h₂u-to- (“that one”), the stem also found in αὐτός (autós).^[6] The element *h₂u (“away, again”) appears in αὖ (aû, “again”) and in pronoun stems of other languages.^[6]

Frisk and LSJ describe it as an expressive extension of the article ὁ (ho), with the emphasising particle *u, a particle also found in Sanskrit, and the demonstrative stem το- (to-): thus ταῦτα (taûta) from *τα-υ-τα (*ta-u-ta).^[7][2] The details are unclear.^[7] Wiktionary analyses it, as the Greek speaker might, as ὁ and αὐτός (autós).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is common from Homer on.^[2][8] In Homer's speeches it properly points to what belongs to or concerns the person spoken to, while ὅδε (hóde) points to what concerns the speaker.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Classical Greek set it against ὅδε (hóde), οὗτος referring to what precedes and ὅδε to what follows, and against ἐκεῖνος (ekeînos), οὗτος meaning 'the latter', closer in time, place or thought.^[3][1] It could point forward to a relative clause, call someone's attention (“you there!”), express contempt in Sophocles, and heighten an added phrase, as in Herodotus' “through a single gorge, and a narrow one”.^[3] The neuter plural ταῦτα served as a colloquial “all right” in Aristophanes and Menander.^[3] Ammonius distinguishes it from deictic οὑτοσί: οὗτος can point or refer back, οὑτοσί only points.^[5]

It is very frequent in the Septuagint and the New Testament.^[10][11] Coptic texts from about AD 300 borrowed forms of it such as ⲧⲁⲩⲧⲁ (tauta).^[12] Medieval Greek made a new singular τούτος (toútos) from the Hellenistic plural τοῦτοι and accusative τοῦτον, and Modern Greek τούτος (toútos), also ετούτος with its e- taken from εκείνος (ekeínos), continues it.^[13] Pontic Greek has reshaped forms such as αούτος (aoútos).^[13][1]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for what concerns the person addressed.^[9][8]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it to call someone's attention.^[3][14]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it to heighten an added phrase, and Sophocles uses it with contempt.^[3][14]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato contrasts it with ἐκεῖνος, “the latter … the former”.^[3][14]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it constantly, often against ἐκεῖνος.^[11]
• AD 300 – The first Coptic manuscripts with a borrowed form of it are dated to this year.^[12]
• Byzantine period – A new singular τούτος (toútos) arises.^[13][1]
• Modern Greek – It survives as τούτος (toútos) beside εκείνος (ekeínos).^[13]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. (adjective) This, the one that is present or under attention.^[3][2]
2. (pronoun) This person or thing; he, she, it.^[3][2]
3. Contrasted with ὅδε (hóde): that, the thing just said.^[3][1]
4. Contrasted with ἐκεῖνος (ekeînos): the latter.^[3][1]
5. Pointing forward to what follows or to a relative clause.^[3]
6. In address: “you there!”.^[3]
7. (contemptuous) This fellow.^[3][15]
8. Heightening an added phrase: καὶ οὗτος (kaì hoûtos), “and that too”.^[3]
9. (neuter plural) ταῦτα (taûta), agreeing to a request: “all right, I will”.^[3]
10. In phrases: πρὸς ταῦτα (pròs taûta) “therefore”, ἐν τούτῳ (en toútōi) “meanwhile”, πρὸς τούτοις (pròs toútois) “besides”.^[3]

Related words

• ὁ (ho)
• αὐτός (autós)
• ὅδε (hóde)
• ἐκεῖνος (ekeînos)
• οὕτως (hoútōs)

Usage notes

The Etymologicum Magnum notes the Attic vocative ὦ οὗτος (ô hoûtos), “you there”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 o p q r Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b Gaisford, Thomas, ed. (1848), Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b [Ammonius], De adfinium vocabulorum differentia, ed. K. Nickau (Leipzig: Teubner, 1966)
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
8. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
10. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
13. ^ a b c d Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
14. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
15. ^ United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.