θηλή

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No

Last modification

Thu, 03/23/2023 - 20:33

Word-form

θῆλυ

Transliteration (Word)

thēlus

English translation (word)

female

Transliteration (Etymon)

thēlē

English translation (etymon)

teat

Author

Plato

Century

5-4 BC

Source

Idem

Ref.

Cratylus, 414a

Ed.

J. Burnet, Platonis opera, vol. 1, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1900 (repr. 1967)

Quotation

τὸ δὲ “θῆλυ” ἀπὸ τῆς θηλῆς τι φαίνεται ἐπωνομάσθαι

Translation (En)

And thēlu "female" seems to be named after thēlē "teat"

Other translation(s)

Et thēlu "femelle" semble tirer son nom de thēlē "mamelon"

Comment

Derivational etymology: both words are -l-derivatives of the same root and differ only by the final vowel

Parallels

Philoxenus, fr. 102 (Θῆλυς· παρὰ τὸ θῶ, τὸ τρέφω, ἀφ’ οὗ ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα θηλή, καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ η εἰς υ θῆλυς, ὡς κάρη κάρυς καὶ κόρυς· εἴρηται γὰρ καὶ κάρη θηλυκόν, ὡς παρὰ Καλλιμάχῳ (fr. 110, 40 Pf.)· „σήν τε κάρην ὤμοσα σόν τε βίον“); Etym. Gudianum, theta, p. 261 (Θῆλυς καὶ θήλεια. ἔστι ῥῆμα θῶ καὶ δηλοῖ τὸ τρέφω, ὁ μέλλων θήσω, παρ’ οὗ θηλὴ ὄνομα ῥηματικὸν, καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ η εἰς υ θῆλυς, οὗ γένος θηλυκὸν θήλεια. οὕτω Φιλόξενος. θηλὴ ὡς κάρη, κάρης καὶ κάρις. εἴρηται δὲ καὶ κάρη, φησὶν ὁ Καλλίμαχος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 450 (Θηλαμών : [...] Ἐκ τοῦ θήσω οὖν γίνεται ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα θηλή· καὶ τροπῇ, θῆλυς, ὡς κάρη, κάρυς. Εἴρηται γὰρ καὶ θηλυκῶς κάρη, ὡς παρὰ Καλλιμάχῳ, ἥν τε κάρην ὤμοσα σόν τε βίον); Lexicon de Atticis nominibus, entry 64 (θῆλυ. ἀπὸ τῆς θηλῆς, τοῦτο ἀπὸ τοῦ θάλλειν καὶ ποιεῖν)

Bibliography

NB: notice that θῆλυς is originally a noun in Greek, not an adjective. See C. Le Feuvre, « Védique vádhri-, vŕ̥ṣan-, dhārú-, grec *ἔθρις, ἄρσην / ἔρσην, θῆλυς. Conversion et dérivation ». Lyuke wmer ra. Indo-European Studies in honor of Georges-Jean Pinault, éd. H. Fellner, M. Malzahn, M. Peyrot. Ann Arbor, Beech Stave, 2021, p. 319-330

Modern etymology

Θῆλυς is an -l-derivative of θῆσαι "to suckle".

Persistence in Modern Greek

Yes, as a learned word

Entry By

Eva Ferrer