ὄκνος

See also: οκνός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to hang, tarry”), shared with Latin cunctor (“I delay, hold up”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ó.knos/ → /ˈo.knos/ → /ˈo.knos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ó.knos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈo.knos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.knos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.knos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈo.knos/

Noun

ὄκνος • (óknos) m (genitive ὄκνου); second declension

1. shrinking, hesitation
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.817:

     οὔτέ τί με δέος ἴσχει ἀκήριον οὔτέ τις ὄκνος

     oúté tí me déos ískhei akḗrion oúté tis óknos

     neither spiritless fear nor some hesitation holds me back

   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 7.49:

     ἀντιλέγοντος δὲ τοῦ Νικίου ὄκνος τις καὶ μέλλησις ἐνεγένετο

     antilégontos dè toû Nikíou óknos tis kaì méllēsis enegéneto

     Nicias still objecting, a certain hesitation and indecisiveness arose in [them]

Declension

Second declension of ὁ ὄκνος; τοῦ ὄκνου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὄκνος ho óknos	τὼ ὄκνω tṑ óknō	οἱ ὄκνοι hoi óknoi
Genitive	τοῦ ὄκνου toû óknou	τοῖν ὄκνοιν toîn óknoin	τῶν ὄκνων tôn óknōn
Dative	τῷ ὄκνῳ tôi óknōi	τοῖν ὄκνοιν toîn óknoin	τοῖς ὄκνοις toîs óknois
Accusative	τὸν ὄκνον tòn óknon	τὼ ὄκνω tṑ óknō	τοὺς ὄκνους toùs óknous
Vocative	ὄκνε ókne	ὄκνω óknō	ὄκνοι óknoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἄοκνος (áoknos)
• ὀκνέω (oknéō)
• ὀκνηρός (oknērós)

References

• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

Further reading

• “ὄκνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • backwardness idem, page 58.
  • chariness idem, page 126.
  • delay idem, page 207.
  • delicacy idem, page 207.
  • demur idem, page 210.
  • diffldence idem, page 223.
  • disinclination idem, page 234.
  • dread idem, page 251.
  • embarrassment idem, page 267.
  • faint-heartedness idem, page 302.
  • faltering idem, page 304.
  • fear idem, page 312.
  • flagging idem, page 325.
  • flinching idem, page 328.
  • hesitation idem, page 398.
  • indecision idem, page 431.
  • irresolution idem, page 460.
  • luke-warmness idem, page 504.
  • misgiving idem, page 534.
  • oscillation idem, page 580.
  • procrastination idem, page 644.
  • pusillanimity idem, page 660.
  • qualm idem, page 663.
  • reluctance idem, page 692.
  • scruple idem, page 743.
  • scrupulousness idem, page 743.
  • shrinking idem, page 771.
  • slowness idem, page 786.
  • squeamishness idem, page 808.
  • tardiness idem, page 855.
  • torpor idem, page 881.
  • unreadiness idem, page 928.
  • unsteadiness idem, page 933.
  • vacillation idem, page 942.
  • wavering idem, page 968.