γόνυ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *gónu, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu. Cognates include Sanskrit जानु (jānu), Latin genu, Old Armenian ծունգք (cungkʻ), Gothic 𐌺𐌽𐌹𐌿 (kniu), and Old English cnēow (English knee).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɡó.ny/ → /ˈɣo.ny/ → /ˈɣo.ni/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɡó.ny/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡo.ny/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɣo.ny/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈɣo.ny/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈɣo.ni/

Noun

γόνῠ • (gónŭ) n (genitive γόνᾰτος); third declension

1. knee

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ γόνῠ; τοῦ γόνᾰτος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ γόνῠ tò gónŭ	τὼ γόνᾰτε tṑ gónăte	τᾰ̀ γόνᾰτᾰ tằ gónătă
Genitive	τοῦ γόνᾰτος toû gónătos	τοῖν γονᾰ́τοιν toîn gonắtoin	τῶν γονᾰ́των tôn gonắtōn
Dative	τῷ γόνᾰτῐ tōî gónătĭ	τοῖν γονᾰ́τοιν toîn gonắtoin	τοῖς γόνᾰσῐ / γόνᾰσῐν toîs gónăsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ γόνῠ tò gónŭ	τὼ γόνᾰτε tṑ gónăte	τᾰ̀ γόνᾰτᾰ tằ gónătă
Vocative	γόνῠ gónŭ	γόνᾰτε gónăte	γόνᾰτᾰ gónătă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of τὸ γόνῠ; τοῦ γούνᾰτος (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ γόνῠ tò gónŭ	τὼ γούνᾰτε tṑ goúnăte	τᾰ̀ γούνᾰτᾰ tằ goúnătă
Genitive	τοῦ γούνᾰτος toû goúnătos	τοῖν γουνᾰ́τοιν toîn gounắtoin	τῶν γουνᾰ́των tôn gounắtōn
Dative	τῷ γούνᾰτῐ tōî goúnătĭ	τοῖν γουνᾰ́τοιν toîn gounắtoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν γούνᾰσῐ / γούνᾰσῐν / γούνᾰσσῐ / γούνᾰσσῐν toîsĭ(n) goúnăsĭ(n) / goúnăssĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ γόνῠ tò gónŭ	τὼ γούνᾰτε tṑ goúnăte	τᾰ̀ γούνᾰτᾰ tằ goúnătă
Vocative	γόνῠ gónŭ	γούνᾰτε goúnăte	γούνᾰτᾰ goúnătă
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

• Poetic: genitive singular: γουνός (gounós), dative singular: γουνί (gouní), plural (nom, acc, voc): γοῦνα (goûna), genitive plural: γούνων (goúnōn)
• Aeolic: plural (nom, acc, voc): γόνα (góna), plural genitive: γόνων (gónōn)

Derived terms

• γονῠαλγής (gonŭalgḗs)
• γονῠκαμψεπίκυρτος (gonŭkampsepíkurtos)
• γονῠκαυσαγρύπνα (gonŭkausagrúpna)
• γονῠκλινέω (gonŭklinéō)
• γονῠκλινής (gonŭklinḗs)
• γονῠκλιτέω (gonŭklitéō)
• γονύκροτος (gonúkrotos)
• γονῠπετέω (gonŭpetéō)
• γονῠπετής (gonŭpetḗs)
• γονῠπλήξ (gonŭplḗx)
• ἐπῐγονᾰτῐ́ς (epĭgonătĭ́s)

Related terms

• γνύξ (gnúx)

Descendants

• Greek: γόνατο (gónato)
• Translingual: → Gonatus, ⇒ Gonystylus

References

• “γόνυ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “γόνυ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “γόνυ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• γόνυ 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
• γόνυ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• γόνυ in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “γόνυ”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1119 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• γόνυ 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.
  • knee idem, page 470.

Greek

Alternative forms

• γόνατο (gónato) (standard form)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɣoni/
• Hyphenation: γό‧νυ

Noun

γόνυ • (góny) n (plural γόνατα)

1. (archaic, expression) knee. Used in the set phrase (in indication of respect):

   κλίνω το γόνυ ― klíno to góny ― I show respect (literally, “I bend the knee”)

Declension

Declension of γόνυ

	singular	plural
nominative	γόνυ (góny)	γόνατα (gónata)
genitive	γόνατος (gónatos)	γονάτων (gonáton)
accusative	γόνυ (góny)	γόνατα (gónata)
vocative	γόνυ (góny)	γόνατα (gónata)