Etymologically
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ei

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 19 October 2026 at 02:27. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɛi̯][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɛi̯][1]

Forms

ei [1] It is also spelled hei.[2][1]

Etymology

It is an exclamation of grief, which the OLD compares with Ancient Greek αἴ (aí, “ah!”).[2] Köbler sets it beside a reconstructed interjection Proto-Indo-European *ēi (Pokorny 297).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Plautus as its first author,[3] who has ei, periī miser, “ah, I am lost, poor wretch”, in the Amphitruo.[4]

Semantic evolution

It expresses anguish or distress, especially in ei mihi! and ei miserō mihi!, “ah me!”, “woe is me!”.[2] It is frequent in comedy, in Plautus, Caecilius and Terence.[4][5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ei, periī miser.[4][3]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence.[5][3]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. Ah! Alas! (in grief or fear);[2][5][1] ei mihi!, woe is me![2]

Usage notes

The same spelling is also the dative singular of is.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press