πρίν

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See also: πριν

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

Appears to be related to πρό (pró), Latin prior, priscus and Lithuanian prie, but the exact formation is uncertain. Perhaps from an old locative *pr-i of Proto-Indo-European *pró (forward).[1]

Pronunciation

 

Adverb

πρῐ́ν or πρῑ́ν (prín or prī́n)

  1. before, sooner, formerly
    1. (of future time, with future indicative)
    2. (of past time) formerly, once

Descendants

  • Greek: πριν (prin)

Conjunction

πρῐ́ν or πρῑ́ν (prín or prī́n)

  1. before that, before
    1. (with infinitive)
      1. (with aorist)
        1. (after a positive clause)
        2. (after a negative clause)
      2. (with present, conveying a sense of continuance)
      3. (with perfect)
    2. (with a finite verb)
      1. (with indicative, chiefly aorist)
        1. (after negative clauses)
        2. (after positive clauses)
      2. (with subjunctive, after negatives)
        1. (with aorist, expressing an action preceding the action of the antecedent)
        2. (with present, rare)
      3. (with optative)
        1. (representing subjective after historical tenses)
        2. (by assimilation)
      4. (with ἄν (án))
      5. (without a verb)

References

  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “πρίν”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1233-4

Further reading