σφωέ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

PIE word
*swé

A conflation of the consonantism of σφεῖς (spheîs, “they”) with the vocalism of νώ (nṓ, “we two”), suffixed with the dual ending -ε.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /spʰɔː.é/ → /sɸoˈe/ → /sfoˈe/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spʰɔː.é/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /spʰoˈe/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /sɸoˈe/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /sfoˈe/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /sfoˈe/

Pronoun

σφωέ • (sphōé)

1. Epic enclitic third person dual personal pronoun: they two, the two of them, both of them, these two
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.8:

     τίς τ’ ἄρ σφωε θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνέηκε μάχεσθαι;

     tís t’ ár sphōe theôn éridi xunéēke mákhesthai?

     So which one of the gods brought these two [Achilles and Agamemnon] together to fight in a quarrel?

Inflection

Irregular declension of σφωέ; σφωῐ̈ν (Epic)

Case / #	Dual
Nominative	σφωέ sphōé
Genitive	σφωῐ̈ν sphōĭ̈n
Dative	σφωῐ̈ν sphōĭ̈n
Accusative	σφωέ sphōé
Vocative	σφωέ sphōé
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Further reading

• “σφωέ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σφωέ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963