previous next
οὐ μή, in independent sentences, is used either in Denial or in Prohibition:
I. in Denial,
1. with subj.,
b. rarely of pres., mostly with Verbs expressing possibility or ability, οὐ μὴ δύνηται (v.l. δυνήσεται) X.Cyr. 8.1.5, cf. An.2.2.12, Hier.11.15; “οὐ μὴ οἷός τ᾽ ᾖςPl.R.341b; “οὐ γὰρ μὴ δυνατὸς Id.Phlb.48d: in S.OC1023, for οὐ μή ποτε . . φυγόντες . . ἐπεύχωνται θεοῖς, two Mss. give ἐπεύξωνται, and this has been adopted by most edd.; and in Is.8.24, for οὐ μὴ εἰσίῃς Bekk. restd. οὐ μὴ εἴσει εἰς . . :—Note: οὐ μή with subj. prob. arose from the ellipsis of a Verb or phrase expressing fear or apprehension; such words are sts. expressed, “οὐ γὰρ ἦν δεινὸν . . μὴ ἁλῷ κοτεHdt.1.84, cf. 7.235, Ar.Ec. 650, X.Mem.2.1.25, Pl.Ap.28b, Phd.84b, Grg.520d, R.465b.—Sts. there is no idea of fear, as in S.Ph.103, E.IT18; the constr. is freely used after ὅτι, Th.5.69, X.HG4.2.3, Pl.R.499b; after ὡς, since, Ar. Av.461; after ὥστε, Pl.Phdr.227d.
II. in Prohibition, οὐ μή is used interrogatively with fut. ind. (chiefly of the 2 pers.) so as to express a strong prohibition, οὐ μὴ 'ξεγερεῖς τὸν ὕπνῳ κάτοχον; = μὴ ἐξέγειρε, S.Tr.978 (anap.); “οὐ μὴ μῦθον ἐς πολλοὺς ἐρεῖς; E.Supp.1066, cf.Andr.757, El.982, Hipp. 213 (anap.); “οὐ μὴ πρόσει τούτοισιν ἐσκοροδισμένοις; Ar.Ach.166, cf. Nu.367, V.397: when the Mss. give an aor. subj. in such phrases (as “οὐ μὴ σκώψῃς μηδὲ ποιήσῃςId.Nu.296) it has generally been changed by edd. into fut. ind.—The prohibition is continued by καί or by “μηδέ, οὐ μὴ᾽ ξεγερεῖς . . κἀκκινήσεις; S.Tr.978 (anap.); “οὐ μὴ προσοίσεις χεῖρα μηδ᾽ ἅψῃ πέπλων; E.Hipp.606, cf. Ar.Nu.296, Ra.298.—The prohibition is changed into a direct command by ἀλλά or “δέ, οὐ μὴ λαλήσεις ἀλλ᾽ ἀκολουθήσεις ἐμοί; Id.Nu.505, cf. Ra.202, 462, 524, E.Ba.792; οὐ μὴ προσοίσεις χεῖρα βακχεύσεις δ᾽ ἰών; ib.343, cf. Med.1151, El.383.
2. later οὐ μὴ ἐμπέσω let me not fall, LXX 2 Ki.24.14.
III. in A. Th.250, οὐ σῖγα μηδὲν τῶνδ᾽ ἐρεῖς κατὰ πτόλιν; seems to mean keep silent and say nothing . . , σῖγα being short for σιγήσει and καὶ being omitted: similarly, οὐ σῖγ᾽ ἀνέξει, μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρῇ; submit silently and do not play the coward, S.Aj.75, cf. Tr. 1183, OT637, E.Hipp.498, Hel.437, Pl.Smp.175a.
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 (81 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (81):
    • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 895
    • Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 199
    • Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 250
    • Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 282
    • Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 38
    • Aristophanes, Acharnians, 166
    • Aristophanes, Birds, 461
    • Aristophanes, Ecclesiazusae, 650
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 202
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 298
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 462
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 508
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 524
    • Aristophanes, Wasps, 394
    • Aristophanes, Wasps, 397
    • Demosthenes, On the Crown, 246
    • Euripides, Andromache, 757
    • Euripides, Bacchae, 343
    • Euripides, Bacchae, 792
    • Euripides, Electra, 982
    • Euripides, Electra, 383
    • Euripides, Hecuba, 1039
    • Euripides, Helen, 437
    • Euripides, Heracles, 718
    • Euripides, Hippolytus, 213
    • Euripides, Hippolytus, 606
    • Euripides, Hippolytus, 498
    • Euripides, Iphigeneia in Taurus, 18
    • Euripides, Medea, 1151
    • Euripides, Phoenician Women, 1590
    • Euripides, Phoenician Women, 2
    • Euripides, Suppliants, 1066
    • Herodotus, Histories, 1.199
    • Herodotus, Histories, 1.84
    • Herodotus, Histories, 7.235
    • Herodotus, Histories, 7.53
    • Isaeus, Ciron, 24
    • Plato, Republic, 341b
    • Plato, Republic, 609b
    • Plato, Republic, 465b
    • Plato, Republic, 499b
    • Plato, Apology, 28b
    • Plato, Phaedo, 105d
    • Plato, Phaedo, 84b
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 227d
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 260e
    • Plato, Philebus, 48d
    • Plato, Symposium, 175a
    • Plato, Gorgias, 520d
    • Sophocles, Ajax, 560
    • Sophocles, Ajax, 75
    • Sophocles, Electra, 1052
    • Sophocles, Electra, 1029
    • Sophocles, Electra, 42
    • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 450
    • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 1023
    • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 176
    • Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 329
    • Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 771
    • Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 637
    • Sophocles, Philoctetes, 103
    • Sophocles, Philoctetes, 611
    • Sophocles, Philoctetes, 381
    • Sophocles, Trachiniae, 1183
    • Thucydides, Histories, 4.95
    • Thucydides, Histories, 5.69
    • Xenophon, Anabasis, 2.2.12
    • Xenophon, Anabasis, 4.8.13
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 3.2.8
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 5.1.17
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 8.1.5
    • Xenophon, Hellenica, 1.6.32
    • Xenophon, Hellenica, 4.2.3
    • Xenophon, Memorabilia, 2.1.25
    • Xenophon, Hiero, 11.15
    • Sophocles, Trachiniae, 978
    • Aristophanes, Acharnians, 662
    • Aristophanes, Clouds, 296
    • Aristophanes, Clouds, 367
    • Aristophanes, Clouds, 505
    • Old Testament, 2 Samuel, 24.14
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: