οὐ

See also: οὔ, οὗ, -ου, -ού, and Appendix:Variations of "oy"

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

Possibly οὐκί (oukí, not so, never), from *ojukid, from Proto-Indo-European *(ne) h₂óyu kʷid (not ever, not on your life). Compare Sanskrit उद् (ud), Gothic 𐌿𐌳 (ud), Old Armenian ոչ (očʿ).

Pronunciation

 

Particle

οὐ (ou) (negative particle)

  1. not (indicates negation)

Usage notes

οὐ is the indicative negator (i.e. of facts, statements), where μή (mḗ) is the subjunctive negator (i.e. of will, thought). It usually immediately precedes the word (most often a verb) which it negates. Negative concord (also known as double negatives) is frequent in Ancient Greek.

References

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