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ArchivesGreek suffix -ene
I was trying to find out what the Greek female suffix -ene means. Examples, Selene, Ismene. One place said it meant "daughter of", although Wikipedia says only -one has that meaning (such as Dione). I can't seem to find any info anywhere else. So, any ideas?
This message was edited 8/12/2020, 2:44 PM
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It appears to be a feminine adjectival suffix, which is/was apparently also used as a patronymic suffix:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ene#English
Another such suffix is -ine, of which the masculine equivalent is -inos (cognate to Latin -ina and -inus). So no, -one is not the only Greek suffix of this type.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ene#English
Another such suffix is -ine, of which the masculine equivalent is -inos (cognate to Latin -ina and -inus). So no, -one is not the only Greek suffix of this type.
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the -e- and -i- and -o- were originally part of the preceding root, but later mistaken as part of the suffix, the suffix was masculine -νος • (-nos) feminine -νη (-ne) added to roots or words to forms adjectives or nouns .e.g. Nazarene, Damascene
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Would you mind providing a source for that? I would be interested to read more about it. Thank you in advance!
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So the roots would be sele- and isme- and the ending is -ne? Does the suffix add any meaning or just form them into a name?
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Not necessarily. At first when the suffix -ne/-nos was added to a root, the conjugal vowel was supplied by the root, but for complicated reasons (partly through comparison with the adjectival suffix -ine/-inos), the assumption was made that the vowel was part of the suffix. So Selas (light, bright) + -ne becomes Selene (with levelling, in Doric the suffix is -na so it remains Selana), but it was later treated as if it was Sel- + -ene and the new suffix applied to other words. The suffix forms a new derivative noun from the root (just as -inos formed adjectives), with a variable meaning. It doesn't necessarily form them into a name, it just indicates the new word is related to the root. There are a few cases where -ne may have formed nouns without a conjugal vowel from the root, but in these it is not treated as a suffix as the root is not used in any other context.
This message was edited 8/17/2020, 8:40 AM
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The root of Selene is thought to be σέλας (selas):
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Σελήνη#Ancient_Greek
I wish Pavlos were still around: he was a native Greek and therefore perfectly suited to answer questions like yours.
Now that I think of it... if all else fails, you could try going to /r/AncientGreek and /r/Greek on Reddit (or even /r/Greece). There should be native Greeks there that can answer your questions better than we can.
• Ancient Greek: https://old.reddit.com/r/AncientGreek/
• Greek: https://old.reddit.com/r/GREEK/
• Greece: https://old.reddit.com/r/greece/
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Σελήνη#Ancient_Greek
I wish Pavlos were still around: he was a native Greek and therefore perfectly suited to answer questions like yours.
Now that I think of it... if all else fails, you could try going to /r/AncientGreek and /r/Greek on Reddit (or even /r/Greece). There should be native Greeks there that can answer your questions better than we can.
• Ancient Greek: https://old.reddit.com/r/AncientGreek/
• Greek: https://old.reddit.com/r/GREEK/
• Greece: https://old.reddit.com/r/greece/
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Good idea, thanks!
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