ναῦς Ancient Greek · revision 15564

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Mycenaean (Linear B)|origins=ine-pro *néh₂us}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /nâːu̯s/^(Wiktionary)

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

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''νᾱῦς''' (nāûs) ''f'' (genitive νᾱός or νεώς); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|grk-pro|*nā́us]], [[inh|ine-pro|*néh₂us|t=boat]], the old Indo-European word for a ship.^(Wiktionary)^(Beekes 2010) Its inflection still largely matches Sanskrit and Latin: ναῦς = [[sa|नौस्|tr=náuṣ]], [[m|grc|νῆα|tr=nêa]] = Sanskrit [[m|sa|नावम्|tr=nā́vam]] and [[la|nāvem]] (whence the nominative [[m|la|nāvis]]), [[m|grc|νῆες|tr=nêes]] = Sanskrit [[m|sa|नावस्|tr=nā́vas]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) Mycenaean has the compound [[gmy|na-u-do-mo]], “shipbuilders”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[fa|ناو|tr=nâv|t=boat]], [[xcl|նաւ|tr=naw|t=ship]] (perhaps an Iranian loan), [[sga|nau|t=ship]] and [[non|nór|t=ship]].^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Mycenaean tablets have [[gmy|na-u-do-mo]].^(Wiktionary) Homer uses it from the first book of the ''Iliad'' (1.12), and “at the ships” means in the camp formed by the ships drawn up on the shore (''Iliad'' 2.688).^(GLAUx)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The dialects kept many forms: epic and Ionic [[m|grc|νηῦς|tr=nēûs]], genitive [[m|grc|νεώς|tr=neṓs]], Doric [[m|grc|ναός|tr=nāós]].^(Beekes 2010) Thucydides speaks of “long ships”, warships built for speed, and Herodotus of round-built merchant ships;^(LSJ 1940) Herodotus also uses νέες alone for triremes.^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ In non-literary Hellenistic Greek it was rare, and the New Testament has it only once (Acts 27:41), [[πλοῖον|tr=ploîon]] being the usual word.^(LSJ 1940) Its compounds include [[ναύαρχος|tr=naúarkhos]] “commander of a ship”, and Latin borrowed ''nauta'' and ''nausea'' from Greek.^(Beekes 2010) Modern Greek ''ναυς'' is a learned word.^(Triantafyllidis 1998)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mycenaean – Linear B has the compound na-u-do-mo.^(Wiktionary)

+ * Homer – The ''Iliad'' uses it for the ships at Troy.^(GLAUx)^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 5th century BC – Herodotus distinguishes warships and merchant ships.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+ * 5th century BC – Thucydides speaks of “long ships”.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+ * 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it once.^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|ship]].^(LSJ 1940)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural, Homer)'' The ships drawn up on shore, the camp.^(LSJ 1940)

+ # A [[m|en|warship]]; a [[m|en|trireme]].^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|nāvis]]

+ * [[en|nausea]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}