echon

Echon is a transliteration of the Ancient Greek participle ἔχων, the masculine nominative singular present active participle of the verb ἔχω, meaning "to have" or "to hold." As a participle, echon is used to express an ongoing state of possession or holding and can function in a sentence similarly to a relative or descriptive clause.

In classical usage, echon appears in attributive phrases that modify a noun, agreeing with the noun in gender, number, and case. For example, in a phrase such as ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἔχων δῶρον, the participle describes the man as “having a gift.” Because it is a participle, echon can serve as part of a larger clause, linking to actions or circumstances connected to the noun it modifies.

Transliteration and orthography vary in modern editions, with echon often drawn directly from ἔχων as echon or echōn, depending on the transliteration system and the handling of long vowels. In scholarly contexts, precise diacritics may be used to reflect the original Greek pronunciation, but many English texts simplify the form for readability.

Echon is primarily encountered in studies of Greek grammar and philology and is not a standalone word with a separate modern definition in standard English usage. Its relevance rests in illustrating how Greek participles function to convey possession or ongoing states within classical sentences.