νήπιος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The word is presumably the negative prefix νη-, but the stem is unclear. Strong's Greek Lexicon (1890) suggests νη- (nē-, negative prefix) +‎ ἔπος (épos, “speech”), compare Latin infans (“infant”) from in- (not) +‎ fāns (speaking). But a 2010 review by Beekes favors instead a derivation from ἤπιος, as suggested by Lacroix in 1937, with a possible PIE root *h2ep meaning 'join,' from which we would also have ἅπτω.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /nɛ̌ː.pi.os/ → /ˈni.pi.os/ → /ˈni.pi.os/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /nɛ̌ː.pi.os/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈne̝.pi.os/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈni.pi.os/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈni.pi.os/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈni.pi.os/

Adjective

νήπῐος • (nḗpĭos) m (feminine νηπῐ́ᾱ, neuter νήπῐον); first/second declension

1. childish, infantile, juvenile, young
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 9.440
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 2.136
   • 413 BCE, Euripides, Ion 1399
   • 425 BCE, Euripides, Andromache 755
   • 430 BCE, Euripides, Herakles' Children 956
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 1340B.30
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1105A.2
   • 200 BCE – 118 BCE, Polybius, The Histories 4.20.8
   • New Testament, Epistle to the Galatians 4:1
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates of Kos, Epidemics 6.1.4
   • 129 CE – 216 CE, Galen, Collected Works 17.826
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates of Kos, Aphorisms 4.1
   1. (of animals)
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 2.311
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 11.113
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 17.134
      • 371 BCE – 287 BCE, Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants 8.1.7
   2. (of the understanding) childish, untaught, silly, credulous
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 13.237
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 16.46
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 9.44
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 22.445
      • 490 BCE – 430 BCE, Empedocles, Collected Works 11.1
      • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.82
      • 525 BCE – 455 BCE, Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 443
      • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Democritus, Collected Works 76
      • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Electra 145
      • 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 652
      • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Fragments 157
      • 431 BCE, Euripides, Medea 891
      • 423 BCE, Aristophanes, The Clouds 105
   3. (of bodily strength)
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 11.561

Inflection

First and second declension of νήπῐος; νηπῐ́ᾱ; νήπῐον (Attic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		νήπῐος nḗpĭos	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νήπῐον nḗpĭon		νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō		νήπῐοι nḗpĭoi	νήπῐαι nḗpĭai	νήπῐᾰ nḗpĭă
Genitive		νηπῐ́ου nēpĭ́ou	νηπῐ́ᾱς nēpĭ́ās	νηπῐ́ου nēpĭ́ou		νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin	νηπῐ́αιν nēpĭ́ain	νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin		νηπῐ́ων nēpĭ́ōn	νηπῐ́ων nēpĭ́ōn	νηπῐ́ων nēpĭ́ōn
Dative		νηπῐ́ῳ nēpĭ́ōi	νηπῐ́ᾳ nēpĭ́āi	νηπῐ́ῳ nēpĭ́ōi		νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin	νηπῐ́αιν nēpĭ́ain	νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin		νηπῐ́οις nēpĭ́ois	νηπῐ́αις nēpĭ́ais	νηπῐ́οις nēpĭ́ois
Accusative		νήπῐον nḗpĭon	νηπῐ́ᾱν nēpĭ́ān	νήπῐον nḗpĭon		νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō		νηπῐ́ους nēpĭ́ous	νηπῐ́ᾱς nēpĭ́ās	νήπῐᾰ nḗpĭă
Vocative		νήπῐε nḗpĭe	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νήπῐον nḗpĭon		νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō		νήπῐοι nḗpĭoi	νήπῐαι nḗpĭai	νήπῐᾰ nḗpĭă
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		νηπῐ́ως nēpĭ́ōs				νηπῐώτερος nēpĭṓteros				νηπῐώτᾰτος nēpĭṓtătos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First and second declension of νήπῐος; νηπῐ́η; νήπῐον (Ionic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		νήπῐος nḗpĭos	νηπῐ́η nēpĭ́ē	νήπῐον nḗpĭon		νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō		νήπῐοι nḗpĭoi	νήπῐαι nḗpĭai	νήπῐᾰ nḗpĭă
Genitive		νηπῐ́ου nēpĭ́ou	νηπῐ́ης nēpĭ́ēs	νηπῐ́ου nēpĭ́ou		νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin	νηπῐ́αιν nēpĭ́ain	νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin		νηπῐ́ων nēpĭ́ōn	νηπῐέων / νηπῐῶν nēpĭéōn / nēpĭôn	νηπῐ́ων nēpĭ́ōn
Dative		νηπῐ́ῳ nēpĭ́ōi	νηπῐ́ῃ nēpĭ́ēi	νηπῐ́ῳ nēpĭ́ōi		νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin	νηπῐ́αιν nēpĭ́ain	νηπῐ́οιν nēpĭ́oin		νηπῐ́οισῐ / νηπῐ́οισῐν / νηπῐ́οις nēpĭ́oisĭ(n) / nēpĭ́ois	νηπῐ́ῃσῐ / νηπῐ́ῃσῐν nēpĭ́ēisĭ(n)	νηπῐ́οισῐ / νηπῐ́οισῐν / νηπῐ́οις nēpĭ́oisĭ(n) / nēpĭ́ois
Accusative		νήπῐον nḗpĭon	νηπῐ́ην nēpĭ́ēn	νήπῐον nḗpĭon		νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō		νηπῐ́ους nēpĭ́ous	νηπῐ́ᾱς nēpĭ́ās	νήπῐᾰ nḗpĭă
Vocative		νήπῐε nḗpĭe	νηπῐ́η nēpĭ́ē	νήπῐον nḗpĭon		νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō	νηπῐ́ᾱ nēpĭ́ā	νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō		νήπῐοι nḗpĭoi	νήπῐαι nḗpĭai	νήπῐᾰ nḗpĭă
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		νηπῐ́ως nēpĭ́ōs				νηπῐώτερος nēpĭṓteros				νηπῐώτᾰτος nēpĭṓtătos
Notes:		Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Noun

νήπῐος • (nḗpĭos) m (genitive νηπῐ́ου); second declension (Attic)

1. infant, child
   • 53 CE – 55 CE, Paul the Apostle, First Epistle to the Corinthians 13:11:

     ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος· ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου.

     hóte ḗmēn nḗpios, eláloun hōs nḗpios, ephrónoun hōs nḗpios, elogizómēn hōs nḗpios; hóte gégona anḗr, katḗrgēka tà toû nēpíou.

     When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things (KJV)

Declension

Second declension of ὁ νήπῐος; τοῦ νηπῐ́ου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ νήπῐος ho nḗpĭos	τὼ νηπῐ́ω tṑ nēpĭ́ō	οἱ νήπῐοι hoi nḗpĭoi
Genitive	τοῦ νηπῐ́ου toû nēpĭ́ou	τοῖν νηπῐ́οιν toîn nēpĭ́oin	τῶν νηπῐ́ων tôn nēpĭ́ōn
Dative	τῷ νηπῐ́ῳ tôi nēpĭ́ōi	τοῖν νηπῐ́οιν toîn nēpĭ́oin	τοῖς νηπῐ́οις toîs nēpĭ́ois
Accusative	τὸν νήπῐον tòn nḗpĭon	τὼ νηπῐ́ω tṑ nēpĭ́ō	τοὺς νηπῐ́ους toùs nēpĭ́ous
Vocative	νήπῐε nḗpĭe	νηπῐ́ω nēpĭ́ō	νήπῐοι nḗpĭoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

References

• “νήπιος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “νήπιος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “νήπιος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• νήπιος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• νήπιος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “νήπιος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G3516 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.
  • babe idem, page 57.
  • child idem, page 129.
  • childish idem, page 130.
  • infant idem, page 437.
  • infantile idem, page 437.
  • little idem, page 495.
  • puerile idem, page 656.
  • young idem, page 997.