γε

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ge"

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• γα (ga) — Doric, Boeotian
• γ’ (g’) — apocopic

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gó ~ *ge (emphatic, delimiting particle), which is sometimes unified with, but is formally impossible to derive from, the similar particle *gʰo ~ *gʰe. Possible cognates include Proto-Germanic *-k (pronominal accusative marker, see *mek, *dek, *sek) and Tocharian B -k (emphatic suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɡe/ → /ʝe/ → /ʝe/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɡe/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɡe/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ʝe/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ʝe/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ʝe/

Particle

γε • (ge) (discourse particle)

1. often translatable with italics or stress
   1. (limiting) at least, at any rate, only
   2. (intensifying) in fact

Usage notes

As an enclitic, γε follows the single word that it affects, or if it affects a phrase or clause, follows the first word in the phrase or clause. Hence, when it modifies a substantive that has the article, it usually follows the article. In the following examples, phrases are underlined:

• 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 80e:

  Σωκράτης   […] οὔτε γὰρ ἂν ὅ γε οἶδεν ζητοῖ—οἶδεν γάρ, καὶ οὐδὲν δεῖ τῷ γε τοιούτῳ ζητήσεως […]

  Sōkrátēs   […] oúte gàr àn hó ge oîden zētoî—oîden gár, kaì oudèn deî tôi ge toioútōi zētḗseōs […]

  Socrates: […] For he can neither inquire into what he knows — since he knows it, and in a case like that there is no need for inquiry […]

Because δέ (dé) must always follow the first word in a clause, γε always follows δέ when it modifies the first phrase in the clause.

• 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 164a:

  Σωκράτης   ὁ δέ γε ὁρῶν καὶ ἐπιστήμων γεγονὼς οὗ ἑώρα, ἐὰν μύσῃ, μέμνηται μέν, οὐχ ὁρᾷ δὲ αὐτό.

  Sōkrátēs   ho dé ge horôn kaì epistḗmōn gegonṑs hoû heṓra, eàn músēi, mémnētai mén, oukh horâi dè autó.

  Socrates:   But the one who sees and has become knowledgeable about what he saw, if he closes his eyes, he still remembers it, though he no longer sees it.

It may also attach to other particles, with a mild intensifying effect.

Derived terms

• ἔγωγε (égōge)
• ἐμέγε (emége)
• σέγε (sége)
• αὖ γε (aû ge)
• γάρ (gár)
• γοῦν (goûn)

Further reading

• “γε”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “γε”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• γε 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
• γε in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• γε in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “γε”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1065 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • all idem, page 22.
  • anyhow idem, page 33.
  • assuredly idem, page 48.
  • certainly idem, page 122.
  • event idem, page 285.
  • however idem, page 408.
  • indeed idem, page 431.
  • least idem, page 483.
  • rate idem, page 673.
  • yes idem, page 996.