φωνή Ancient Greek · revision 15493

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=inherited|attested=Homer, Iliad}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /pʰɔː.nɛ̌ː/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ɸoˈni/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /foˈni/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''φωνή''' (phōnḗ) ''f'' (genitive φωνῆς); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|grk-pro|*pʰōnā́]], generally taken as [[inh|ine-pro|*bʰoh₂-néh₂]], from [[m|ine-pro|*bʰeh₂-|t=to speak]], with the /o/ grade of the root of [[m|grc|φημί|tr=phēmí|t=to say]].^(Wiktionary)^(Frisk 1960)^(Πάπυρος) Frisk doubted this: no other certain word shows that vowel grade, and the meanings “sound, voice” and “say” do not quite match.^(Frisk 1960) He preferred a link with [[cu|звонъ|tr=zvonŭ|t=sound]] and [[sq|zë|t=voice]], from [[m|ine-pro|*ǵʰwonos-]];^(Frisk 1960) the Πάπυρος dictionary considers that view unlikely.^(Πάπυρος)

+

+ Ancient grammarians offered other explanations: one derived it from [[m|grc|φάος|tr=pháos|t=light]] and [[m|grc|νόος|tr=nóos|t=mind]], “the light of the mind”, another from [[m|grc|φαίνω|tr=phaínō|t=to bring to light]].^(Etygram)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Homer it is the voice and speech of gods and men, and also a shout or cry, as in the ''Iliad'' (2.490).^(CGL 2021)^(GLAUx) In ''Iliad'' 17.696 a man's voice “was checked”.^(LIV 2001)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Classical Greek used it for the voice of animals (the ''Odyssey'', Herodotus), for any sound produced by the voice, for battle cries and shouts of praise, and for speech and language;^(CGL 2021) Aeschylus, Herodotus and Thucydides use it for the dialect of a people.^(CGL 2021) It also meant any articulate sound, especially a vowel.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Its derivatives include [[φωνέω|tr=phōnéō]] “to speak, call”.^(Wiktionary) In Modern Greek ''φωνή'' is the voice and a cry; its senses “voice (in music)” and “(grammatical) voice” are learned, partly semantic loans from French ''voix''.^(Triantafyllidis 1998) English ''-phone'' comes from it.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Homer – The ''Iliad'' uses it for the voice and for a cry.^(CGL 2021)^(GLAUx)

+ * Homer – The ''Odyssey'' uses it for the voice of an animal.^(CGL 2021)

+ * 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides use it for a people's dialect.^(CGL 2021)^(DGE)

+ * 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for language.^(CGL 2021)^(DGE)

+ * Modern Greek – ''φωνή'' still means voice.^(Triantafyllidis 1998)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The faculty of [[m|en|speech]].^(CGL 2021)

+ # A [[m|en|voice]], of gods, people or animals.^(CGL 2021)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A sound uttered, an utterance; a [[m|en|cry]], shout.^(CGL 2021)

+ # Speech, [[m|en|language]]; a [[m|en|dialect]].^(CGL 2021)

+ # An articulate sound, especially a vowel.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[φωνέω|tr=phōnéō]]

+ * [[φωνομαχία|tr=phōnomakhíā]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|-phone]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}