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αβγό

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Greek

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Back-formation from the plural αβγά (avgá), itself extracted from τ' αβγά (t' avgá, the eggs), a regular phonological development of Ancient Greek τὰ ᾠά (tà ōiá):

/ta.oˈa//tau̯ˈa//tau̯ˈɣa//tavˈɣa/.

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm via Proto-Hellenic *ōyyón.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /aˈvɣo/
  • Hyphenation: α‧βγό

Noun

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αβγό (avgón (plural αβγά)

  1. (zoology) egg (spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, reptiles, insects and other animals, housing the embryo during its development)
    Το αβγό της χελώνας είναι μικρό και ολοστρόγγυλο.
    To avgó tis chelónas eínai mikró kai olostróngylo.
    A turtle's egg is small and totally round.
  2. (more specifically) egg (of a hen, used as food)
    Για να φτιάξεις μπισκότα χρειάζεσαι αβγά, αλεύρι και βούτυρο.
    Gia na ftiáxeis biskóta chreiázesai avgá, alévri kai voútyro.
    To make biscuits, you need eggs, flour and butter.
  3. (figuratively) egg (anything shaped like an egg)
    Το Πάσχα στην Ευρώπη τρώνε σοκολατένια αβγά.
    To Páscha stin Evrópi tróne sokolaténia avgá.
    At Easter in Europe, chocolate eggs are eaten.
  4. (biology) egg, ovum (female primary cell)
    Synonym: ωάριο (oário)
    Δύο άντρες χρειάζονται το αβγό μιας γυναίκας για να έχουν ένα παιδί.
    Dýo ántres chreiázontai to avgó mias gynaíkas gia na échoun éna paidí.
    Two men need a woman's egg to have a child.

Usage notes

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  • Spelling: In accordance with Georgios Hatzidakis and Manolis Triantafyllidis, Babiniotis considers αβγό the correct spelling:
    The ‑β‑ in the word originated from phonetic development and there is no justification for writing it with the diphthong ‑αυ‑, as though it has always existed in the word.[1]
The αυγό spelling is found in other dictionaries.[2] (Similarly: αφτί ~ αυτί (aftí, ear)).

Declension

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Declension of αβγό
singular plural
nominative αβγό (avgó) αβγά (avgá)
genitive αβγού (avgoú) αβγών (avgón)
accusative αβγό (avgó) αβγά (avgá)
vocative αβγό (avgó) αβγά (avgá)

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ αβγό - Babiniotis, Georgios (2008) Λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας: [] [Dictionary of Modern Greek (language)] (in Greek), 3rd edition, Athens: Kentro Lexikologias [Lexicology Centre], 1st edition 1998, →ISBN.
  2. ^ αυγό, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language

Further reading

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