θάομαι
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Etymon-lemma
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English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
παρθένος· ... ἢ παρὰ τὸν θήσω μέλλοντα τὸν δηλοῦντα τὸ θηλάσω· „γυναῖκά τε θήσατο μαζόν“ (Ω 58), γίνεται ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα θήνη, καὶ μετὰ τῆς παρὰ προθέσεως παραθήνη, καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν καὶ τροπῇ παρθένος. ἡ περὶ ταύτην τὴν ἡλικίαν οὖσα καθ’ ἣν ὥραν ἔχει ἐκθρέψαι καὶ ἐκτῆσθαι μαζούς, οὓς ἡ φύσις ἔταξε. τὰς γοῦν μικρὰς παῖδας οὐ προσαγορεύομεν παρθένους, ἀλλὰ τὰς ἤδη ἐπὶ τὸ γυναῖκας εἶναι ἰούσας. οὕτως Φιλόξενος
Translation (En)
Parthenos "virgin" : or from the future thēsō meaning "to suckle" : "he sucked a woman's breast" (Il. 24,58), one obtains a verbal noun *thēnē, and with prothesis *parathēnē, then through syncope and change parthenos "virgin", the one who reaches the age where she has grown and acquired the breasts nature gave her. So we do not call young girls parthenous, but only those who are approaching the age of being women. This is what Philoxenus says
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 654 (Παρθένος: Παρὰ τὸ παρακαταθέειν τὴν παιδικὴν ἡλικίαν· ἢ παρὰ τὸ παραθέειν τῇ μητρὶ, ὡς ὁ ποιητὴς, ‘ἥθ’ ἅμα μητρὶ θέουσ’ ἀνελέσθαι ἀνώγει’. ἢ παρὰ τὸν θήσω μέλλοντα γίνεται θήνη· καὶ μετὰ τῆς παρὰ προθέσεως, παραθήνη· καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν, παρθένος, ἡ περὶ ταύτην τὴν ἡλικίαν οὖσα, καθ’ ἣν ὥραν ἔχει ἐκθρέψαι καὶ ἐκτῆσθαι μαζοὺς, ἣν ἡ φύσις ἔταξε. Τὰς γοῦν μικρὰς παῖδας οὐ προσαγορεύουσι παρθένους, ἀλλὰ τὰς ἤδη ἐπὶ τὸ γυναῖκας μέλλειν ἰούσας. Οὕτως Φιλόξενος· ὁ δὲ Ἡρακλείδης, ἡ παρ’ οὐδενὸς οὐδὲν λαβοῦσα εἰς ἕδνα); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, pi, p. 1508 (Παρθένος. παρὰ τὸ θέειν τὴν παιδικὴν ἡλικίαν, ἢ παρὰ τὸ θέειν τῇ μητρὶ, ἢ παρὰ τὸν θήσω μέλλοντα. ‘γυναῖκά τε θήσατο μαζόν’. γίνεται ῥηματικὸν ὄνομα θήνη, καὶ μετὰ τῆς παρὰ προθέσεως παραθήνη καὶ παρθένος. ἡ περὶ ταύτην τὴν ἡλικίαν οὖσα, καθ’ ἣν ὥραν ἔχει ἐκθρέψαι καὶ ἐκτῆσθαι μαζούς· τὰς γὰρ μικρὰς παιδίσκας οὐ προσαγορεύομεν παρθένους, ἀλλὰ τὰς ἤδη ἐπὶ τὸ γυναῖκας μέλλειν ἰούσας. ὁ δὲ Ἡρακλείδης παρ’ οὐδενὸς οὐδὲν λαβοῦσα εἰς ἕδνα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ πῦρ θανατοῦν)
Comment
This etymology is faithful to Phloxenus' method, identifying a verbal root, thē- "so suckle" (which indeed modern linguists reconstruct as the basis of several Greek words, like θηλή "nipple", θήλυς "female", τιθήνη "wet nurse", θήσασθαι "to suck milk", but not of παρθένος). Several formal manipulations (prothesis, syncope, vocalic change) are required in order to derive παρθένος from that root. From the semantic point of view, this is a functional etymology which is interesting in so far as it relies on an adunaton: a virgin cannot breast feed. So that Greek etymologists turned it into a descriptive etymology "the one who has breasts", switching from function (to suckle, which is not the function of a virgin) to organ (breast)