αὑτοῦ
hautoû
G848
SILEX Entry
Definition
Reflexive pronoun indicating possession or association with the subject ('his own,' 'her own,' 'their own,' etc.), signifying that the referent is identified reflexively with the subject of the clause. Most often, it marks ownership, relation, or intimate association, as in 'one's own,' as distinct from that belonging to another. The term can function for any gender or number, governed by the grammatical context.
Semantic Range
his own, her own, their own, its own, belonging to him/her/them/it, himself, herself, themselves (in oblique cases); reflexive possessive pronoun indicating relationship or ownership
Root / Etymology
Cognate with ἑαυτοῦ (heautoû), a reflexive form built from αὐτός (autos, 'self') with the addition of a reflexive marker. In Hellenistic Greek, αὑτοῦ developed as a contracted form, especially when the rough breathing on the upsilon was maintained in pronunciation or tradition. The root is αὐτ- ('self'), with reflexive and possessive development.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In Classical Greek, the fuller form ἑαυτοῦ is standard as the reflexive pronoun in the genitive, dative, and accusative. The contracted form αὑτοῦ is found more frequently in later and Koine sources, reflecting ongoing phonetic simplification and morphosyntactic change. Its usage is primarily oblique (i.e., not nominative) and confined to the third person, for reflexive or emphatic possession or association. In the Septuagint and New Testament, it frequently appears where English translations render 'his,' 'her,' 'their own,' or 'himself,' though the reflexive, possessive, and emphatic nuance is often more pronounced than in idiomatic English. The form αὑτοῦ should be distinguished from αὐτοῦ ('of him'), which is non-reflexive; failure to note this distinction may obscure the pronoun's function in Greek syntax. Over time, the forms with smooth or rough breathing often merge in manuscripts, sometimes making the distinction between reflexive and non-reflexive ambiguous.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
contracted for ἑαυτοῦ; self (in some oblique case or reflexive relation):--her (own), (of) him(-self), his (own), of it, thee, their (own), them(-selves), they.
Word Forms
0 distinct forms
No word forms found for this Strong's number.
Occurrences in Scripture
0 occurrences
No occurrences found.