αἰών

See also: Αἰών

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From earlier αἰϝών (aiwṓn), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vital force, life, long life, eternity”), whence also ἀεί (aeí, “always”). Cognate with Latin aevum, English aye.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ai̯.ɔ̌ːn/ → /ɛˈon/ → /eˈon/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ai̯.ɔ̌ːn/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɛˈon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɛˈon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈon/

Noun

αἰών • (aiṓn) m or f (genitive αἰῶνος); third declension

1. lifetime, life
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.685:

     χάρη δ᾽ ἄρα οἱ προσιόντι Σαρπηδὼν Διὸς υἱός, ἔπος δ᾽ ὀλοφυδνὸν ἔειπε: ‘Πριαμίδη, μὴ δή με ἕλωρ Δαναοῖσιν ἐάσῃς κεῖσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπάμυνον: ἔπειτά με καὶ λίποι αἰὼν ἐν πόλει ὑμετέρῃ, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄρ᾽ ἔμελλον ἔγωγε νοστήσας οἶκον δὲ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν εὐφρανέειν ἄλοχόν τε φίλην καὶ νήπιον υἱόν.

     khárē d’ ára hoi prosiónti Sarpēdṑn Diòs huiós, épos d’ olophudnòn éeipe: ‘Priamídē, mḕ dḗ me hélōr Danaoîsin eásēis keîsthai, all’ epámunon: épeitá me kaì lípoi aiṑn en pólei humetérēi, epeì ouk ár’ émellon égōge nostḗsas oîkon dè phílēn es patrída gaîan euphranéein álokhón te phílēn kaì nḗpion huión.

     Then glad at his coming was Sarpedon, son of Zeus, and spake to him a piteous word:“Son of Priam, suffer me not to lie here a prey to the Danaans, but bear me aid; thereafter, if need be, let life depart from me in your city, seeing it might not be that I should return home to mine own native land to make glad my dear wife and infant son.”

2. generation, race
3. an undefined, relatively long period of time
   1. (an) eon, (an) epoch, (an) age
   2. (as countable things): (an) eternity, (a) perpetuity
4. forever (in a nominal sense)
5. remote past
6. very long stretch of time ahead
7. a world to come, a future age
8. the current world, current age
9. world; space
10. (Judaism, Christianity) messianic age

Usage notes

• Typically a masculine noun, but sometimes treated as feminine in poetry, along with the irregular accusative singular αἰῶ (aiô).

Declension

Third declension of ὁ / ἡ αἰών; τοῦ / τῆς αἰῶνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ / ἡ αἰών ho / hē aiṓn	τὼ αἰῶνε tṑ aiône	οἱ / αἱ αἰῶνες hoi / hai aiônes
Genitive	τοῦ / τῆς αἰῶνος toû / tês aiônos	τοῖν αἰώνοιν toîn aiṓnoin	τῶν αἰώνων tôn aiṓnōn
Dative	τῷ / τῇ αἰῶνῐ tōî / tēî aiônĭ	τοῖν αἰώνοιν toîn aiṓnoin	τοῖς / ταῖς αἰῶσῐ / αἰῶσῐν toîs / taîs aiôsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν / τὴν αἰῶνᾰ / αἰῶ tòn / tḕn aiônă / aiô	τὼ αἰῶνε tṑ aiône	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς αἰῶνᾰς toùs / tā̀s aiônăs
Vocative	αἰών aiṓn	αἰῶνε aiône	αἰῶνες aiônes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of αἰών; αἰῶνος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	αἰών aiṓn	αἰῶνε aiône	αἰῶνες aiônes
Genitive	αἰῶνος aiônos	αἰώνοιν / αἰώνοιῐν aiṓnoi(ĭ)n	αἰώνων aiṓnōn
Dative	αἰῶνῐ aiônĭ	αἰώνοιν / αἰώνοιῐν aiṓnoi(ĭ)n	αἰῶσῐ / αἰῶσῐν / αἰώνεσσῐ / αἰώνεσσῐν / αἰώνεσῐ / αἰώνεσῐν aiôsĭ(n) / aiṓnessĭ(n) / aiṓnesĭ(n)
Accusative	αἰῶνᾰ / αἰῶ aiônă / aiô	αἰῶνε aiône	αἰῶνᾰς aiônăs
Vocative	αἰών aiṓn	αἰῶνε aiône	αἰῶνες aiônes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Third declension of ὁ / ἡ αἰών; τοῦ / τῆς αἰῶνος (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ / ἡ αἰών ho / hē aiṓn	τὼ αἰῶνε tṑ aiône	οἱ / αἱ αἰῶνες hoi / hai aiônes
Genitive	τοῦ / τῆς αἰῶνος toû / tês aiônos	τοῖν αἰώνοιν toîn aiṓnoin	τῶν αἰώνων tôn aiṓnōn
Dative	τῷ / τῇ αἰῶνῐ tōî / tēî aiônĭ	τοῖν αἰώνοιν toîn aiṓnoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν αἰῶσῐ / αἰῶσῐν toîsĭ(n) aiôsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν / τὴν αἰῶνᾰ / αἰῶ tòn / tḕn aiônă / aiô	τὼ αἰῶνε tṑ aiône	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς αἰῶνᾰς toùs / tā̀s aiônăs
Vocative	αἰών aiṓn	αἰῶνε aiône	αἰῶνες aiônes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Synonyms

• καιρός (kairós)
• χρόνος (khrónos)

Derived terms

• αἰώνιος (aiṓnios)
• εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων (eis toùs aiônas tôn aiṓnōn)

Descendants

• → English: æon
• → French: æon
• → Greek: αιώνας (aiónas)
• → Latin: æon, aeon
  • Spanish: eón
  • French: éon
  • Italian: eone
  • → English: eon, aeon
• → Russian: эо́н (eón)

References

• “αἰών”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “αἰών”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “αἰών”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• αἰών in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• αἰών in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• αἰών in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “αἰών”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G165 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• αἰών in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007), Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • age idem, page 18.
  • century idem, page 122.
  • life idem, page 489.
  • lifetime idem, page 490.
  • term idem, page 862.
  • time idem, page 875.