ἄγνος

See also: αγνός and ἁγνός

Ancient Greek

ἄγνος illustrated in the Vienna Dioscurides

Alternative forms

• ^? ἄγονος (ágonos)

Etymology

From the adjective ἁγνός (hagnós, “chaste”), unless this is a folk etymology which led to the cultural associations with chastity, rather than the reverse. Beekes considers this a candidate for Pre-Greek origin given the variants ἄγονος (ágonos, id.) and ἄγονον (ágonon, “wild myrtle”) (which, on the other hand, could just be identical to the adjective ἄγονος (ágonos, “infertile”)), speculatively perhaps from a more widespread European substrate source, in view of its resemblance to Old Church Slavonic ꙗгнѧдъ (jagnędŭ, “black poplar”). The non-arboreal meanings are uncertain and remain unexplained.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /á.ɡnos/ → /ˈa.ɣnos/ → /ˈa.ɣnos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /á.ɡnos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɡnos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɣnos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɣnos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɣnos/

Noun

ἄγνος • (ágnos) f (genitive ἄγνου); second declension

1. chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)

   Synonym: λύγος (lúgos)

2. withy (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
3. Atlantic stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber)

   Synonyms: καλλιώνυμος (kalliṓnumos), οὐρανοσκόπος (ouranoskópos)

4. type of bird

Usage notes

The branches of the chaste tree were strewn by young women on their beds at the Thesmophoria. The notion of chastity was an association from the word's similarity to ἁγνός (hagnós, “chaste”).

• Thesmophoria on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ᾰ̓́γνος; τῆς ᾰ̓́γνου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓́γνος hē ắgnos	τὼ ᾰ̓́γνω tṑ ắgnō	αἱ ᾰ̓́γνοι hai ắgnoi
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓́γνου tês ắgnou	τοῖν ᾰ̓́γνοιν toîn ắgnoin	τῶν ᾰ̓́γνων tôn ắgnōn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓́γνῳ têi ắgnōi	τοῖν ᾰ̓́γνοιν toîn ắgnoin	ταῖς ᾰ̓́γνοις taîs ắgnois
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓́γνον tḕn ắgnon	τὼ ᾰ̓́γνω tṑ ắgnō	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓́γνους tā̀s ắgnous
Vocative	ᾰ̓́γνε ắgne	ᾰ̓́γνω ắgnō	ᾰ̓́γνοι ắgnoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἄγνινος (ágninos)

Related terms

• ^? ἄγονον (ágonon)

Descendants

• → Old Armenian: հագնի (hagni)

Further reading

• “ἄγνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄγνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἄγνος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄγνος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)