previous next
μά (A) [α^], Particle used in asseverations and oaths, c. acc. of the deity or thing appealed to; in itself neither affirmative nor negative, but made so by prefixing ναί or οὐ, or, in Att., by the context: thus,
I. ναὶ μὰ . . , in affirmation, ναὶ μὰ τόδε σκῆπτρον yea by this staff, Il.1.234, cf. h.Merc.460; “ναὶ μὰ γὰρ ὅρκον” Pi.N.11.24; ναὶ μὰ Δία, ναὶ μὰ τὸν Δία, etc., Ar.Ach.88, Pl.R.407b, etc.; also “μὰ ναί” Inscr.Cypr.109 H.
II. οὐ μὰ . . , in negation, οὐ μὰ γὰρ Ἀπόλλωνα, οὐ μἀ Ζῆνα, nay, by . . , Il.1.86, 23.43; “οὐ μὰ τὴν δέσποιναν Ἄρτεμιν” S. El.626; “οὔ τοι μὰ τοὺς δώδεκα θεούς” Ar.Eq.235; οὐ μὰ τὸν Δία, οὔκουν οὕτω γε . . Pl.Tht.142e.
III. after Hom. μά is freq. used alone,
1. chiefly in negation when the negative follows, “μὰ Δί᾽ οὐκ εἶδον ἐμαυτοῦ ἀμείνω ὑλοτόμον” IG12.1084; μὰ τὴν πατρῴαν ἑστίαν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὕβρει λέγω τάδ' S.El.881; “μὰ τοὺς παρ᾽ Ἅιδῃ νερτέρους ἀλάστορας, οὔτοι ποτ᾽ ἔσται τοῦτο” E.Med.1059; “μὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλω, οὔκ” Ar.Th.269, cf. A.Ag.1432, E.Cyc.262, Pl.Prt.312e; “μὰ τὴν γῆν, μὴ σύγε δῷς” Anaxil.9; “μὰ δαίμονας, οὐκ ἀπὸ ῥυσμοῦ εἰκάζω” Call.Epigr.44; μὰ τὸν Δία δὲ οὐδὲ νομίζω . . IG22.1099.30 (ii A.D.); “μὰ σέ, Καῖσαρ, οὐδείς σε νικᾷ” D.C.61.20: with preceding neg., “οὐδ᾽ ὄναρ, μὰ τὰς Μοίρας” Herod. 1. II: in answers, when the negation is expressed in the question, οὐκ αὖ μ᾽ ἐάσεις; Answ. “μὰ Δί᾽, ἐπεὶ κἀγὼ πόνηρός εἰμι” Ar.Eq.336, cf. 338 (where οὐκ ἐάσω is to be supplied after μὰ Δία from the question, cf. Ra.951, Pl.400): when ἀλλά follows, δύο δραχμὰς μισθὸν τελεῖς; Answ. “μὰ Δί᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἔλαττον” Id.Ra.174 (where οὐ τελῶ is understood, cf. ib. 753, 779, 1053, X.Mem.3.13.3): in “μὰ γῆν, μὰ κρήνας, μὰ ποταμούς, μὰ νάματα” Antiph.296 = Timocl.38, the context is missing.
b. in reply to an imper., ἀπόδος αὐτό; Answ. “μὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλω” Ar.Th. 748.
2. in later Gr. in affirmation, “δακρύω μὰ σέ, δαῖμον” Annales du Service 27.32 (Egypt); “μὰ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν Ἀκοντίῳ γαμοῦμαι” Aristaenet. 1.10, cf. Ach.Tat.8.5.
IV. in colloquial discourse, esp. Att. (cf. Greg.Cor.p.150 S., Ph.2.271), the name of the deity sworn by was often suppressed, to avoid a downright oath, “μὰ τόν” Ar.Ra.1374 (lyr.), Pl.Grg.466e; “μὰ τήν” Men.369; “ναὶ μὰ τόν” Call.Fr.66d, Ael. NA3.19; ναὶ μὰ τάς (sc. Χάριτας) Suid. s.v. ναὶ μὰ τό (codd. dett.); “οὐ μὰ τὸν—οὐκ ὀμόσω” AP12.201 (Strat.), cf. 7.112 (D.L.).
V. μά is sts. omitted after ναί (q. v.); also after “οὐ, οὐ τὸν πάντων θεῶν θεὸν πρόμον Ἅλιον” S.OT660 (lyr.); οὐ τὸν Ὄλυμπον ib. 1088 (lyr.); “οὐ τόνδ᾽ Ὄλυμπον” Id.Ant.758, cf. El.1063 (lyr.).
Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by. Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1940.

The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

hide Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
Search for in
How to enter text in Greek:
hide References (33 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (33):
    • Aeschylus, Agamemnon, 1432
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 1053
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 174
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 753
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 779
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 951
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 1374
    • Aristophanes, Knights, 235
    • Aristophanes, Knights, 336
    • Aristophanes, Knights, 338
    • Aristophanes, Plutus, 400
    • Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae, 748
    • Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae, 269
    • Euripides, Cyclops, 262
    • Euripides, Medea, 1059
    • Homer, Iliad, 1.234
    • Homer, Iliad, 1.86
    • Homer, Iliad, 23.43
    • Homeric Hymns, Hymn 4 to Hermes, 460
    • Plato, Republic, 407b
    • Plato, Gorgias, 466e
    • Plato, Protagoras, 312e
    • Sophocles, Antigone, 758
    • Sophocles, Electra, 1063
    • Sophocles, Electra, 626
    • Sophocles, Electra, 881
    • Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 660
    • Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 1088
    • Xenophon, Memorabilia, 3.13.3
    • Callimachus, Epigrams, 44
    • Aristophanes, Acharnians, 88
    • Aelian, De Natura Animalium, 3.19
    • Achilles Tatius, Leucippe et Clitophon, 8.5
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: