ἀλλά

Forms

ᾰ̓λλᾰ́ (allá) ^[1] Before a vowel it is usually elided to ἀλλ’.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos, “other”): originally the neuter plural ἄλλα (álla, “other things”), used as an adverb meaning “otherwise”, with the accent moved to the last syllable.^[1][2][4][5] Babiniotis traces the meaning from “as for the rest, for the other things” to “apart from that, however”, and then to the adversative “but”.^[6]

The adjective ἄλλος (állos) goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos (“other”),^[1][7] and is cognate with Latin alius, Old Irish aile, Old Armenian այլ (ayl) and Old English elles, the source of English else.^[1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is common from the first book of the Iliad on, and Hesiod has it too.^[8] Homer already uses it to set one word or clause against another, as in the line saying a warrior was small in stature but a fighter, and with an imperative to urge someone on, as in ἀλλ’ ἄγε “come on, then”.^[2][3][9]

Semantic evolution

In classical Greek it is the strongest adversative particle, stronger than δέ (dé).^[2] It sets a positive against a negative (“not bad but good” in Theognis), forms the pair “not only … but also”, opens the main clause after a condition (“yet, at least”), and in drama and dialogue introduces answers and objections (“well, but …”).^[2][3] Set phrases built on it include οὐ μὴν ἀλλά (ou mḕn allá) and ἀλλ’ οὖν (all’ oûn) “nevertheless, in any case”.^[10][2]

In the New Testament it marks contrast after a negative or after μέν, as in “I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” in Matthew.^[5] Medieval vernacular Greek kept it both as “but” and in the sense “and indeed”.^[11] Modern Greek still has αλλά (allá) as its everyday adversative conjunction.^[12][11]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it to oppose words, clauses and whole sentences and with imperatives.^[2][3][8]
• 7th century BC – Archilochus contrasts the fox, who knows many things, with the hedgehog, who knows one big thing.^[9]
• 6th century BC – Theognis writes “not a bad man but a good one”.^[2][3]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes uses it in answers and objections, and Plato writes “not once but many times”.^[2]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it after negatives and in contrasts.^[5]
• 1100–1669 – Medieval vernacular texts use αλλά (allá) for “but” and “and indeed”.^[11]
• Modern Greek – αλλά (allá) is still the usual word for “but”.^[12]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. But, in simple oppositions, after μέν or on its own.^[3][2][9]
2. After a negative: but, rather (οὐ … ἀλλά “not … but”); οὐ μόνον … ἀλλὰ καί “not only … but also”.^[2][3][5]
3. Opening the main clause after a condition: yet, still, at least.^[2]
4. Except, but, after ἄλλος or a negative, like ἀλλ’ ἤ (Homer).^[2]
5. Opposing or introducing whole sentences: but, yet; in transitions, and in answers and objections, “well, but”.^[2][3]
6. With an imperative or subjunctive, urging: Come on, well then.^[2][10]

Related words

• ἄλλος (állos)
• ἄλλως (állōs)
• Latin alius
• English else

Usage notes

Korinthios lists the set phrases οὐ μὴν ἀλλά and οὐ μέντοι ἀλλά “nevertheless”, and ἀλλ’ οὖν “at any rate”.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
10. ^ a b c Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
11. ^ a b c 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