μή

See also: μυ, μι, and μη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

μᾱ́ (mā́) — Elean

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *mḗ, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁ (prohibitive particle). Cognate with Old Armenian մի (mi), Sanskrit मा (mā), Old Persian 𐎶𐎠 (m-a /⁠mā⁠/), and Albanian mos.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mɛ̌ː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /me̝/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /mi/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /mi/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /mi/

Particle

μή • (mḗ) (negative particle)

not (used in clauses expressing will or thought)
1. (with an imperative or subjunctive in negative commands)
2. (with an optative or past indicative, expressing a negative wish)
3. (in a question expecting a negative answer)
4. (in dependent clauses)
5. (with participle representing conditional clause)
(in warnings or statements of fear)
1. (in independent clauses) that ... not; that
  - 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 89c:
    Σωκράτης […] ἀλλὰ μὴ τοῦτο οὐ καλῶς ὡμολογήσαμεν.
    Sōkrátēs […] allà mḕ toûto ou kalôs hōmologḗsamen.
    Socrates: But [let's hope] that we didn't agree on this incorrectly.
    or [I'm worried] that we agreed […] .
2. (introducing indirect statement after verb of fearing or apprehension) that

Usage notes

μή is the negative of thought or wish, but οὐ (ou) of objective statements of fact.

Derived terms

μηδαμῇ (mēdamêi)
μηδαμοί (mēdamoí)
μηδαμοῦ (mēdamoû)
μηδέ (mēdé)
μηδείς (mēdeís)
μηδέποτε (mēdépote)
μηδέπω (mēdépō)
μηδέτερος (mēdéteros)
μηκέτι (mēkéti)
μήπω (mḗpō)
μήτις (mḗtis)
μήτοι (mḗtoi)
μῶν (môn)

Further reading

“μή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“μή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“μή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
μή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
μή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
“μή”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G3361 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- lest idem, page 485.
- not idem, page 562.
- provide idem, page 654.
- refrain idem, page 685.

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