The Combo ΗΥ ηυ

[alfie1888]

Hi, all!

I'm looking for examples of words (both Modern and Ancient) that use the digraph (or diphthong, I suppose, as it was in Ancient Greek - though, I may be wrong there!) ΗΥ ηυ. Moreover, I need examples of where this is pronounced [if] and [iv]. So far I only have απηύδησα [apívðisa]. Any more?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Scholiast]

χαῖρετ᾽ ὦ φίλοι

Archimedes' perhaps apocryphal ηὑρῆκα! as he leapt from the bath, after realising the principle of fluid displacement, is a jolly good specimen.

Σ

 

[Perseas]

«The vowel combinations αυ, ευ are pronounced in two different ways:
a) They are pronounced [av], [ev] when followed by a vowel or a voiced consonant: παύω /pávo/, αυλή /avlí/, αύριο /ávrio/, Αύγουστος /ávɣustos/, Εύα /éva/, εφεύρεση /efévresi/, ευλογώ /evloɣó/
b) They are pronounced [af], [ef] when followed by a voiceless consonant: ναύτης /náftis/, ευχάριστος /efxáristos/, ευτυχία /eftiçía/»
Source

ηὑρῆκα!

Both forms εὕρηκα & ηὕρηκα exist, but I 'm more familiar with the first one.

 

[Αγγελος]

ηυ was rare even in ancient Greek (where one can also encounter the diphthong ωυ). It usually occurred as a variant of an initial αυ or ευ, lengthened because of augment or reduplication, as in your example απηύδησα (aorist of απαυδῶ) or in ηυχαρίστησα (aorist of ευχαριστῶ). In the modern pronunciation, those would indeed be [iv] and [if], respectively.

απηύδησα is used in educated speech, though one can also say απαύδησα, in line with the general tendency to ignore this kind of augment. Likewise, one can still say κατηύθυνα or διηύθυνα, as an imperfect or aorist form of κατευθύνω and διευθύνω (both meaning 'to direct', the former in the sense of telling someone where to go and how to get there, the latter in the sense of acting as the director of an orchestra or a business). There you have an example of ηυ pronounced [if], in accordance with the rule given by Perseas above.

Archimedes' exclamation is usually written εὕρηκα. The modern aorist βρήκα comes from that ancient perfect, a unique instance of such survival in the standard modern language.