the negative of fact and statement, as μή of will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective. —The same differences hold for all compounds of οὐ and μή, and some examples of οὐδέ and οὐδείς are included below.—As to the Form, see infr. G. USAG[[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__I as the negative of single words,
__II as the negative of the sentence.
__I οὐ adhering to single words so as to form a quasi-compound with them:—with Verbs: οὐ δίδωμι withhold, [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 24.296 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐκ εἰῶ prevent, [[ 2.132, 4.55, +others] Refs]; οὐκ ἐθέλω refuse, [[ 1.112, 3.289, +others] Refs]; οὔ φημι deny, [[ 7.393, 23.668, +others (In most of these uses μή can replace οὐ when the _construction_ requires it, e.g. εἰ μή φησι ταῦτα ἀληθῆ εἶναι 4th c.BC: Lycurgus Orator 34 ] Refs 4th c.BC+]; but sometimes οὐ is retained, εἰ δ᾽ ἂν.. οὐκ ἐθέλωσιν [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 3.289; εἰ δέ κ᾽.. ου᾽κ εἰῶσι 20.139; ἐὰν οὐ φάσκῃ 5th c.BC: Lysias Orator 13.76 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐάντε.. οὐ (variant{μή}) φῆτε ἐάντε φῆτε [[ 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Apologia” 25b):—with Participles: οὐκ ἐθέλων 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 4.224, 300, 6.165, etc.:— with Adjectives: οὐκ ἀέκοντε 5.366, 768, +others; οὐ πολλήν 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 6.7, etc.:— with Adverbs: οὐχ ἥκιστα [prev. author] 1.68, etc.: rarely with Verbal Nouns (see. below 11.10).] Refs 8th c.BC+] —On the use of οὐ in contrasts, see below [[ 5th c.BC: Bacchylides Lyricus ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__II.7.c when οὐ belongs closely to the next word (see. [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus I)] Refs 4th c.BC+], or is quoted unchanged, εἰ, ὡς νῦν φήσει, οὐ παρεσκευάσατο [[ 4th c.BC: Demosthenes Orator 54.29 codices ] Refs 4th c.BC+]; εἰ δ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστί (i.e. ὥσπερ λέγεις), τίνι τρόπῳ διεφθάρη ; [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Ion” 347. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__II.8 οὐ is used with infinitive in indirect speech, when it represents the indicative of orat. recta, φαμὲν δέ οἱ οὐ τελέεσθαι [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 4.664, compare 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 17.174, 21.316, 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Philoctetes” 1389, etc.; λέγοντες οὐκ εἶναι αὐτόνομοι 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.67, compare 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Respublica” 348c, 5th-6th c.BC: Xenophon Historicus “Institutio Cyri (Cyropaedia)” 1.6.18; οἶμαι.. οὐκ ὀλίγον ἔργον αὐτὸ εἶναι 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Respublica” 369b, compare 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Oedipus Tyrannus” 1051, 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.71, etc.; ἡγήσαντο ἡμᾶς οὐ περιόψεσθαι [prev. work] 39. (For the occasional use of μή, see at {μή} 5th c.BC: Bacchylides Lyricus 5c] Refs 8th c.BC+]; sometimes we have οὐ and μή in consecutive clauses, οἶμαι σοῦ κάκιον οὐδὲν ἂν τούτων κρατύνειν μηδ᾽ ἐπιθύνειν χερί [[ 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Philoctetes” 1058s q.; αὐτὸ ἡγοῦμαι οὐ διδακτὸν εἶναι μηδὲ.. παρασκευαστόν 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Protagoras” 319b.) ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__II.9 οὐ is used with the participle, when it can be resolved into a finite sentence with οὐ, as after Verbs of knowing and showing, τὸν κατθανόνθ᾽ ὁρῶντες οὐ τιμώμενον [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Hecuba” 316; κατενόησαν οὐ πολλοὺς τοὺς Θηβαίους ὄντας 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 2. 3; ἔργῳ δηλώσω οὐ παραγενόμενος 5th c.BC: Antipho Orator 2.4.8, etc.] Refs 5th c.BC+]; or into a causal sentence, τῶν βαρβάρων οἱ πολλοὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ διεφθάρησαν νέειν οὐκ ἐπιστάμενοι [[ 5th c.BC: Herodotus Historicus 8.89; τὴν Μένδην πόλιν ἅτε οὐκ ἀπὸ ξυμβάσεως ἀνοιχθεῖσαν διήρπασαν 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 4.130 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; or into a concessive sentence, δόξω γυναῖκα καίπερ οὐκ ἔχων ἔχειν [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Alcestis” 352, compare 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Philoctetes” 377, etc.: regularly with ὡς] Refs 5th c.BC+] and participle, ὡς οὐχὶ συνδράσουσα νουθετεῖς τάδε [[ [prev. author] “El.” 1025, etc.; ἐθορυβεῖτε ὡς οὐ ποιήσοντες ταῦτα 5th c.BC: Lysias Orator 12.73, compare 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Philoctetes” 884, “Aj.” 682, 5th c.BC: Herodotus Historicus 7.99, 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.2, 5, 28, 68, 90; ὥσπερ οὐ πάντας τούτῳ τῷ τεκμηρίῳ χρωμένους 4th c.BC: Lycurgus Orator 90, compare 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 8.1, 5th-6th c.BC: Isocrates Orator 4.11 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]:—for exceptions, see at {μή} [[ 5th c.BC: Bacchylides Lyricus 6. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__II.9.b when the participle is used with the Article, μή is generally used, unless there is a distinct reference to a fact, when οὐ is occasionally found, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς οὐκ οὔσης ἔτι [πόλεως] ὁρμώμενοι [[ 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.74; τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει οὐδὲν εἰδότας [prev. author] 4.111; οἱ οὐκ ἐθέλοντες 5th c.BC: Antipho Orator 6.26; τῶν οὐ βουλομένων 5th-6th c.BC: Andocides Orator 1.9; τοὺς οὐδὲν ἀδικοῦντας ἀκρίτους ἀπέκτειναν 5th c.BC: Lysias Orator 12.82, compare τὸν οὐδὲ συμπενθῆσαι τὰς τῆς πατρίδος συμφορὰς τολμήσαντα (preceded by τὸν.. μήτε ὅπλα θέμενον ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος μήτε τὸ σῶμα παρασχόντα κτλ.) 4th c.BC: Lycurgus Orator 43; τὸ οὐχ εὑρημένον 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Respublica” 427e. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__II.10 Adjectives and abstract Substantives with the article commonly take μή (see. μή [[ 5th c.BC: Bacchylides Lyricus 7) but οὐ] Refs 5th c.BC+] is occasionally used, τὰς οὐκ ἀναγκαίας πόσεις [[ 5th-6th c.BC: Xenophon Historicus “Respublica Lacedaemoniorum” 5.4; τοὺς οὐδένας 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Iphigenia Aulidensis” 371; τὸν οὐδέν [prev. author] “Ph.” 598 (whereas ὁ μηδείς, τὸ μηδέν is the rule)] Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὴν τῶν γεφυρῶν οὐ διάλυσιν the non- dissolution of the bridges, the fact of their notbeing broken up, [[ 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.137; ἡ οὐ περιτείχισις [prev. author] 3.95; ἡ τῶν χωρίων οὐκ ἀπόδοσις [prev. author] 5.35, compare 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Hippolytus” 196 (_anapaest meter_)] Refs 5th c.BC+]; so without the article, ἐν οὐ καιπῷ [[ [prev. author] “Ba.” 1287; οὐ πάλης ὕπο [prev. work] 455. ] Refs]
__II.11 for οὐ μή, see entry
__II.12 in questions οὐ ordinarily expects a positive answer, οὔ νυ καὶ ἄλλοι ἔασι..; [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 10.165 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐχ ὁράᾳς..; dost thou not see? [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 17.545; οὐκ.. ᾐσθόμη; 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Prometheus Vinctus” 956] Refs 8th c.BC+]: so as a strong form of imperative,;[[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Agamemnon” 273, “fragment” 310; πῶς δ᾽ οὐχ; [prev. author] “Supp.” 918, 5th-6th c.BC: Aristophanes Comicus “Pax” 1027] Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐμὸς μὲν οὐχί [[5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Iphigenia Aulidensis” 859: also in Prose, 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.120, +others, NT.1Cor.5.12, etc.] NT+5th c.BC+]: the diphthong is genuine and always written ου (ουκ, ουδε, etc.) in early Inscrr., [[ “IG” 12.10.22, etc.; in 4th c.BC rarely written οκ, [prev. work] 22.1635.112,116,121] Refs 4th c.BC+]; οὐ abbreviated ο, Suid. see at {Φιλοξένου γραμμάτιον}.
__H ACCENTUATION. οὐ is oxytone accusative to Hdn.Gr.1.494 (text doubtfulin 504): [[ 4th c.BC: Aristoteles Philosophus “Sophistici Elenchi” 166b6, referring to 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 23.328 τὸ μὲν ου (i.e. οὐ ={οὒ}) καταπύθεται ὄμβρῳ, says λύουσι.. τῇ προσῳδίᾳ λέγοντες τὸ ου ὀξύτερον (i.e. οὗ), compare 178b3. In codices the word is written oxytone when followed by a pause (see. supr. B), and is usually written without any accent in other cases. ] Refs 8th c.BC+]
__H.I οὐ in connexion with other Particles will be found in alphabetical order, οὐ γάρ, οὐ μή, etc.—The corresponding forms of μή should be compared.