Movable nu
In Ancient Greek grammar, movable nu or movable N (Ancient Greek: νῦ ἐφελκυστικόν nû 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) or to create a long syllable in poetic meter.
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.
| third person plural present and future | ||
|---|---|---|
| λέγουσι(ν) τιθέασι(ν) | "they say" "they place" | present |
| λέξουσι(ν) | "they will say" | future |
| third person singular perfect and past | ||
| τέθνηκε(ν) | "he has died", "is dead" | perfect |
| ἔλεγε(ν) | "he was saying" | imperfect |
| εἶπε(ν) | "he said" | aorist |
| ἐτεθνήκει(ν) | "he had died", "was dead" | pluperfect |
| third person singular present (athematic verbs) | ||
| τίθησι(ν) | "he places" | |
| ἐστί(ν) | "it is" | |
| third declension dative plural | ||
| Ἕλλησι(ν) | "to Greeks" | |
| πᾶσι(ν) | "to all" | |
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.
Sources
Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar, par. 134.