ὗ ψιλόν

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• υ (bare form of the letter upsilon without diacritical marks)
• ὖ (standard unaspirated form of the letter upsilon)
• ὗ (rare aspirated form of the letter upsilon)
• υ ψιλόν (common bare form with ψιλόν)
• ὖ ψιλόν (standard unaspirated form with ψιλόν)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /y psiˈlon/ → /i psiˈlon/

• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /(h)y psiˈlon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /y psiˈlon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /y psiˈlon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /i psiˈlon/

• Pronounced as /hyː psiː'lɔːn/ in Koine Greek, reflecting the rare use of rough breathing on ὗ.

Etymology

From ὗ (hû) with ψιλόν (psilón) meaning “plain” or “bare,” used to distinguish this aspirated form of ὗ from the smooth-breathing form of ὖ ψιλόν. Attested in inscriptions and grammarians' works, such as Steph.Gramm. and Myrin., with support from Latin and Coptic sources (e.g., Hypsaeus, "he").

Noun

ὗ ψιλόν • (hû psilón) n (indeclinable)

1. (Koine) The aspirated name for the letter υ (upsilon) in the Ancient Greek alphabet, used in rare phonetic contexts to distinguish it from the smooth-breathing form.

Usage notes

ὗ ψιλόν is the less common aspirated form of ὖ ψιλόν, used in specific ancient Greek texts and inscriptions, particularly for phonetic distinction in formal or poetic contexts. This form appears in some ancient grammars, inscriptions, and in rare dialectal usages. The form is historically associated with the pronunciation of certain words starting with υ, such as ὕαλος and υἱός, but with rough breathing.

Derived terms

• Greek: ύψιλον (ýpsilon)
• English: upsilon

See also

• ὖ ψιλόν
• ὗ

Citations

• Liddell-Scott-Jones, Greek-English Lexicon (LSJ) – Υ υ, τό, indecl., ὗ is aspirated in AP9.385.20 (Steph.Gramm.), 11.67.1 (Myrin.) cod.Pal.
• M. Triantafyllidis, Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek – In ancient Greek pronunciation, υ was pronounced with rough breathing, though this was later dropped in most forms.