νῆσος

See also: νήσος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

νᾶσος (nâsos) – Doric

Etymology

Uncertain. Has traditionally been connected with νήχω (nḗkhō, “I swim”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂- (“to flow, to swim”)). Alternatively, if its meaning "island" has developed from a more original meaning "headland, cape", it may be, like Proto-Germanic *nasją (“foothill; headland, cape”) and Bulgarian нос (nos, “nose; cape, promontory”), a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s (“nose”); only the origin of -s-, which is not usually preserved in Greek, then remains unclear. Has also been connected with Latin īnsula, but the resemblance appears to be accidental. Ultimately, perhaps a Pre-Greek borrowing.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /nɛ̂ː.sos/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈne.sos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈni.sos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈni.sos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈni.sos/

Noun

νῆσος • (nêsos) f (genitive νήσου); second declension

island

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ νῆσος; τῆς νήσου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ νῆσος hē nêsos	τὼ νήσω tṑ nḗsō	αἱ νῆσοι hai nêsoi
Genitive	τῆς νήσου tês nḗsou	τοῖν νήσοιν toîn nḗsoin	τῶν νήσων tôn nḗsōn
Dative	τῇ νήσῳ têi nḗsōi	τοῖν νήσοιν toîn nḗsoin	ταῖς νήσοις taîs nḗsois
Accusative	τὴν νῆσον tḕn nêson	τὼ νήσω tṑ nḗsō	τᾱ̀ς νήσους tā̀s nḗsous
Vocative	νῆσε nêse	νήσω nḗsō	νῆσοι nêsoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Δωδεκάνησα (Dōdekánēsa)
νησαῖος (nēsaîos)
νησίδιον (nēsídion)
νησίς (nēsís)
νησιώτης (nēsiṓtēs)
νησιωτικός (nēsiōtikós)
νησιῶτις (nēsiôtis)
Πελοπόννησος (Pelopónnēsos)
Προκόννησος (Prokónnēsos)
Χερσόνησος (Khersónēsos)
χερσόνησος (khersónēsos)

Descendants

→ Coptic: ⲛⲏⲥⲟⲥ (nēsos)
→ English: Austronesia, Indonesia, Macaronesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia
Greek: νήσος (nísos), νησί (nisí)
→ Latin: nesus