φόνος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *kʷʰónos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰónos. Related to θείνω (theínō, “to strike”) and ἔπεφνον (épephnon, “to slay”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pʰó.nos/ → /ˈɸo.nos/ → /ˈfo.nos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pʰó.nos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpʰo.nos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɸo.nos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈfo.nos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈfo.nos/

Noun

φόνος • (phónos) m (genitive φόνου); second declension

1. murder, slaughter
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 11.430
2. (law) murder(er), homicide
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes, Against Conon 25

Declension

Second declension of ὁ φόνος; τοῦ φόνου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ φόνος ho phónos	τὼ φόνω tṑ phónō	οἱ φόνοι hoi phónoi
Genitive	τοῦ φόνου toû phónou	τοῖν φόνοιν toîn phónoin	τῶν φόνων tôn phónōn
Dative	τῷ φόνῳ tōî phónōi	τοῖν φόνοιν toîn phónoin	τοῖς φόνοις toîs phónois
Accusative	τὸν φόνον tòn phónon	τὼ φόνω tṑ phónō	τοὺς φόνους toùs phónous
Vocative	φόνε phóne	φόνω phónō	φόνοι phónoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of φόνος; φόνου (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	φόνος phónos	φόνω phónō	φόνοι phónoi
Genitive	φόνου / φονοῖο / φόνοιο / φονόο / φόνοο phónou / phonoîo / phónoio / phonóo / phónoo	φόνοιν / φόνοιῐν phónoi(ĭ)n	φόνων phónōn
Dative	φόνῳ phónōi	φόνοιν / φόνοιῐν phónoi(ĭ)n	φόνοισῐ / φόνοισῐν / φόνοις phónoisĭ(n) / phónois
Accusative	φόνον phónon	φόνω phónō	φόνους phónous
Vocative	φόνε phóne	φόνω phónō	φόνοι phónoi
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ἀνδροφόνος (androphónos)
• Περσεφόνη (Persephónē)
• Τισιφόνη (Tisiphónē)

Descendants

• Greek: φόνος (fónos)

Further reading

• “φόνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “φόνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “φόνος”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• “φόνος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• φόνος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963