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μηδείς

medeis

not one, not even one, nobody

Appears 707 times across Plato's dialogues.

Frequency by work

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Dictionary (LSJ)

μηδείς, μηδεμίᾰ, μηδέν (i.e. μηδὲ εἷς, μηδὲ μία, μηδὲ ἕν): fem. μηδὲ ἴα or μηδεΐα (or -έϊα) IG 12(2).6.12 (Mytil.):—A. not one, not even one, nobody (in neut. nothing), once in Hom. (who elsewh. uses μή τις, v. μήτις) , ἀναίνετο μηδὲν ἑλέσθαι Il. 18.500; μή πως . . μηδὲν ἀνύσσῃς Hes. Op. 395; μηδὲν ἄγαν Pi. Fr. 216, etc.: rare in pl. (μηδαμοί being used in Ion.), μηδένες ἄλλοι X. HG 5.4.20; μηδένας Pl. Euthd. 303c. 2. μηδὲ εἷς (so written) is found in Att. Inscrr., as IG 12.114.41, 22.487.9 (μηδʼ hενί ib.12.73.6), but is used esp. in an emphatic sense, not even one, μηδὲ ἕν Ar. Pl. 37: freq. with an intervening Particle or Prep., μηδʼ ἂν ἕνα Pl. Cra. 414d; μηδʼ ἐν ἑνὶ χρόνῳ Id. Prm. 156c; μηδʼ ἐξ ἑνός Id. Phdr. 245d; μηδʼ ἐφʼ ἑνί Id. R. 553d; μηδὲ περὶ ἑνός Id. Tht. 171c; μηδʼ ὑφʼ ἑνός, μηδʼ ὑπὸ μιᾶς, Id. Smp. 222d, Alc. 1.122a; μηδὲ ὑφʼ ἑνός IG 12.32.8. II. nobody, naught, good for naught, κἄμʼ ἴσον τῷ μ. S. OC 918: pl., οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου τοὺς μηδένας Id. Aj. 1114; μηδέν or τὸ μηδέν as Subst., naught, nothing, κεἰ τὸ μ. ἐξερῶ Id. Ant. 234; μ. λέγειν to say what is naught, X. Cyr. 8.3.20, etc.; ἡ ἡμετέρη εὐδαιμονίη . . ἀπέρριπται ἐς τὸ μ. Hdt. 1.32; τοῦ μηδενὸς ἀξίη Id. 6.137; ἐπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεσθαι S. El. 1000; ἐς τὸ μ. ἥκειν E. Hec. 622; of persons, τὸ μ. a good-for-nothing, τὸ μ. εἶναι, of a eunuch, Hdt. 8.106; τοιγὰρ σὺ δέξαι μʼ ἐς τὸ σὸν στέγος, τὴν μηδὲν ἐς τὸ μ. S. El. 1166; κἂν τὸ μ. ὦ Id. Tr. 1107; τὸ μ. ὄντας Id. Aj. 1275; ὁ μ. ὤν ib.767; ὅτʼ οὐδὲν ὢν τοῦ μηδὲν ἀντέστης ὕπερ ib.1231, cf. 1094, E. Hec. 843, etc.; ἧττον αὐτοῖς ἔνι ἢ τὸ μ., i.e. it is a mere impossibility, Pl. Tht. 180a; also μ. εἶναι without the Art., Luc. Rh.Pr. 2. III. neut. μηδέν as Adv., not at all, by no means, μηδὲν ἐγκέλευʼ ἄγαν A. Pr. 72, cf. 344; μ. διαφέρειν πλὴν ὀνόματι Pl. Plt. 280a, etc.: with an Adv., μ. αἰνικτηρίως A. Pr. 949: freq. with Comp., μ. μᾶλλον, ἧσσον, etc., S. Aj. 280, 1329, etc.— When other negatives, also derived from μή, are used with it, they do not destroy, but strengthen the negation, μηδέποτε μηδὲν αἰσχρὸν ποιήσας ἔλπιζε λήσειν never hope to escape, when you have done anything base. Isoc. 1.16; cf. μηθείς.
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