What specific Greek words do the letters omicron, omega, and nu stand for in the halo of the icon of Jesus?

Question

The best answer I've found is that the three letters stand for the Greek words "ho on," meaning "The One Who Is." This explanation seems unsatisfactory, since the horizontal line above the letters omega and nu would generally indicate that those letters are themselves abbreviations for full words--which leads me to believe that the three letters should stand for three individual words.

Answer 1

Got kinda the same thing you did:

On his halo, Greek letters omicron, omega, nu, spell out "HO ON." In English, this becomes "Who Am," the name used for God in Exodus 3:14.

Answer 2

The explanation you've heard is accurate.
"O" = article, like "THE" in the masculine form
"WN" (<---omega+N) = IS, BEING, existent [note that upper case omega can be symbolized in other ways as well]

For example, the word "ontology" (which is that department of the science of metaphysics which investigates and explains the nature and essential properties and relations of all <>, as such, or the principles and causes of being) encompasses the word WN (in it's neutral form, which is "ON")

There are other illustrations that read "O WN, O HN, KAI O ERHOMENOS" which means "The one who is, the one who was and the one who is coming"

As for the lines around letters, do not mind about them, as they're accent marks (mainly if above) or touches of the Byzantine style of painting (http://users.forthnet.gr/tha/variasd/ and add "gallery2.htm" to the address).

Answer 3

How come a fisherman story teller from Nazareth with little schooling was using Greek symbols? Wouldn't he have been more comfortable with Hebrew or maybe Latin? I'm surprised the Romans let him get away with it.