μέτρον
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
μήτρα
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
mētra
English translation (word)
womb
Transliteration (Etymon)
metron
English translation (etymon)
measure
Century
1-2 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Gynaeciorum libri iv 1.6.1
Ed.
J. Ilberg, Sorani Gynaeciorum libri iv, de signis fracturarum, de fasciis, vita Hippocratis secundum Soranum [Corpus medicorum Graecorum 4. Leipzig: Teubner, 1927
Quotation
Ἡ μήτρα καὶ ὑστέρα λέγεται καὶ δελφύς· μήτρα μὲν οὖν, ὅτι μήτηρ ἐστὶ πάντων τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς γεννωμένων ἐμβρύων, ἢ ὅτι τὰς ἐχούσας αὐτὴν μητέρας ποιεῖ, κατὰ δέ τινας, ὅτι μέτρον ἔχει χρόνου πρὸς κάθαρσιν καὶ ἀπότεξιν·
Translation (En)
The womb is called mētra and also hustera and delphus: mētra "matrix", because it is the mother (mētēr) of all the newborn babies to which it gives birth, or because those who are provided with it become mothers; but according to some, because it has a measure (metron) of time for purification and childbirth.
Parallels
There is no parallel
Modern etymology
Derived from μήτηρ
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has μήτρα "womb"
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
This etymology, which Soranus mentions without apparently subscribing to it, derived μήτρα from μέτρον. Formally, it relies on the familiar alternation between η and ε (τίθημι / τίθεμεν). Semantically, it refers to the periodic activity of the organ, with monthly periods, hence the notion of "measure" because the activity is regular. This explanation was not successful in Antiquity and is not mentioned anywhere else.