Movable nu

 ( Ancient Greek ) 

In ancient Greek grammar, movable nu, movable N or ephelcystic nu ( , literally "dragged-in nu") is a letter nu (written ν; the Greek equivalent of the letter n) placed on the end of some grammatical forms in Attic Greek or Ionic Greek. It is used to avoid two vowels in a row (hiatus) and to create a syllable weight in poetic meter as a form of epenthesis.

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Grammatical forms Movable nu may appear at the end of certain forms of verbs, nouns, and adjectives. In grammatical , it is usually written with a parenthesis to indicate that it is optional.

"they say"	present
"they place"
future
perfect
imperfect
aorist
pluperfect
"he places"
"it is"
"to Greeks"
"to all"
Epic and Ionic
Epic and Ionic

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Usage Movable nu is used before words starting in a vowel to prevent hiatus.

• πᾶσι ν ἔλεγε ν ἐκεῖνα "he said those things to everyone"

It is often omitted before consonants, but may be included there to produce a heavy syllable where the poetic meter requires one

• πᾶσι λέγουσι ταῦτα "they say these things to everyone"
• πᾶσι λέγουσι ν ταῦτα "they say these things to everyone" with the dactylic pattern – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ×

It is often used at the end of clauses or verses.

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See also

• Nu (letter)
• Ancient Greek
• Attic Greek
• Ionic Greek
• Distinction between a and an, a similar rule in English language
• Eifeler Regel, a similar rule in German dialects

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Sources

• Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar, par. 134.

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