Anyone here good at Greek?

John Lemon

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I'm working on a play that is poking fun at the ancient Greek dramas everyone knows and loves, and I'd like to include a little wordplay. I have a "Greek for beginners" book and noticed that the words "amnestia" and "amnion" are pretty similar. :p
So exactly how would one say "amnion of forgetting"? Exactly how do the words need to be inflected? Thanks a lot in advance. :wave:
 
Thanks for reviving my old textbooks of Greek

John Lemon said:
I'm working on a play that is poking fun at the ancient Greek dramas everyone knows and loves, and I'd like to include a little wordplay.
Sounds like an interesting project. In this particular case, which play would be involved ? I am highly tickled by your riddle, John. Can you tell, or are you not supposed to tell till the end of the play ?
John Lemon said:
I have a "Greek for beginners" book and noticed that the words "amnestia" and "amnion" are pretty similar. :p
Here's from my Liddel & Scott's An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon 1975, Oxford, p.44;

amnesti'a, he (fem.) forgetfulness of wrong, an amnesty (Plutarch)

amni'on, to' (neut.) a bowl in which the blood of victims was caught, Od. (Derivation uncertain)
John Lemon said:
So exactly how would one say "amnion of forgetting"? Exactly how do the words need to be inflected? Thanks a lot in advance. :wave:
"amnion of amnestia" would have the construction, "amni'on" (In which case will it be used ? Just the singular nominative case ?) + the genetive of "amnest'ia." (number is singular or plural ?) Could you please verify the number & case of amnion you want ? Or do you want the whole paradigm in all cases, singular and plural ?

Or does your "amnion of forgetting" want to have the verbal noun, the infinitive, of

amneemone'oo 1) to be unmindful, 2) to make no mention of, not to speak of ?
 
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You did it again, lexico, thanks a lot. :D

By the way, according to the dictionary I have, an amnion is something closer to this:

am·ni·on ( ăm ' nē-ən, -ŏn ' ) n. , pl. -ni·ons or -ni·a ( -nē-ə ). A thin, tough,
membranous sac that encloses the embryo or fetus of a mammal

By the way, I just need the singular, there's only a single "amnion of amnestia".
 
the amnion of the amnestia, in singular declension

By the way, according to the dictionary I have, an amnion is something closer to this:
am·ni·on ( ăm ' nē-ən, -ŏn ' ) n. , pl. -ni·ons or -ni·a ( -nē-ə ). A thin, tough, membranous sac that encloses the embryo or fetus of a mammal
The mother of all Greek-English lexicon Liddel & Scott's, 10th ed., 1990, p.84 indeed lists your definition as 2. inner membrane round the foetus, Emp.71; cf. amneio's, a'mnios (masc.), amnei^on. These seem to be synonymous variants ^^;
John Lemon said:
the singular (amni'on, of anmesti'a), there's only a single "amnion of amnestia".
Here we go, John. The genetive singular of amnesti'a (feminine) would be (tee~s) amnesti'aas, "of (the) forgetting." Amni'on (neuter) in the 5 cases singular is

1) Nom. S. to' amni'on
2) Gen. S. tou~ amni'ou
3) Dat. S. twi~ amni'wi (wi for o-mega with iota subscript)
4) Acc. S. to' amni'on
5) Voc. S. to' amni'on

There are three ways to combine (article1) amni'on & (article2) amnesti'a all meaning "the amni'on of the amnseti'a."

1. (article1) (article2) amnesti'a amni'on
2. (article1) amni'on (article1) (article2) amnesti'a
3. amni'on (article1) (article2) amnesti'a

1. the article1+article2+(of amnesti'a)+amni'on would give;

1-1) Nom. S. to' tee~s amnesti'aas amni'on
1-2) Gen. S. tou~ tee~s amnesti'aas amni'ou
1-3) Dat. S. twi~ tee~s amnesti'aas amni'wi
1-4) Acc. S. to' tee~s amnesti'aas amni'on
1-5) Voc. S. to' tee~s amnesti'aas amni'on
2. as for 2. & 3., switch around the words in the order defined. :wave:
(Yes, article1 is reduplicated in 2.; a redundant feature of Classical Greek.)
 
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