Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Movable nu

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In Ancient Greek grammar, movable nu, movable N or ephelcystic nu (Ancient Greek: νῦ ἐφελκυστικόν nŷ ephelkystikón, literally "nu dragged onto" or "attracted to") is a letter nu (written ν; the Greek equivalent of the letter n) placed on the end of some grammatical forms in Attic or Ionic Greek. It is used to avoid two vowels in a row (hiatus) and to create a long syllable in poetic meter.

Contents

Grammatical forms

Movable nu may appear at the end of certain forms of verbs, nouns, and adjectives. In grammatical paradigms, it is usually written with a parenthesis to indicate that it is optional.

Usage

Movable nu is used before words starting in a vowel to prevent hiatus.

  • πᾶσιν ἔλεγεν ἐκεῖνα "he said those things to everyone"
  • It is omitted before consonants.

  • πᾶσι λέγουσι ταῦτα "they say these things to everyone"
  • It is often used at the end of clauses or verses.

    References

    Movable nu Wikipedia