*γῶ
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
γυνή
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
gunē
English translation (word)
woman
Transliteration (Etymon)
*gō
English translation (etymon)
to receive
Century
1 BC
Reference
fr. 223
Edition
C. Theodoridis, Die Fragmente des Grammatikers Philoxenos [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 2] Berlin: De Gruyter, 1976:
Source
Orion
Ref.
Etymologicum, gamma p. 39
Ed.
F. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig, Weigel, 1820
Quotation
Γυνή, γονή τις ἐστὶν, παρὰ τὴν γονήν· διὰ τὸ δεκτικὸν εἶναι τοῦ γόνου, τουτέστι τοῦ σπέρματος. ὁ δὲ Φιλόξενος ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἀναδιπλασιασμοῦ φησὶν, ὅτι γῶ ἐστὶ ῥῆμα δηλοῦν τὸ δέχομαι, καὶ λαμβάνω.
Translation (En)
Gunē "woman" is a birth (gonē), from the fact that she gives birth ; because she is apt to receive the gonos, that is, the sperm. But Philoxenus, in his book On reduplication, says that gō is a verb meaning "to receive", "to take".
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, gamma p. 326 (Γυνή· παρὰ τὸ γῶ, τὸ λαμβάνω καὶ δέχομαι, ἡ δεκτικὴ τοῦ σπέρματος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ γείνω, τὸ τίκτω, γίνεται γονή, καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ ο εἰς υ Αἰολικῇ, ὡς ὅμοιον ὕμοιον, γίνεται γυνή); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 243 (idem)' Etym. Symeonis, gamma 180 (idem).
Modern etymology
Γυνή is the old Indo-European word for "woman", found for instance in Slavic žena and in English queen (Beekes, EDG).
Persistence in Modern Greek
The word is used in MG only in phrases such as "πυρ γυνή και θάλασσα" ("fire, woman and sea"). The usual form is "γυναίκα" (woman; plural: "γυναίκες"), the old Accusative singular (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of MG)
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
This etymology is typical of Philoxenus, who reduced most Greek words to a monosyllabic verbal form. In that case, *γῶ is a ghost-form, invented in order to account for a few words, first of which γωρυτός "quiver" (which receives the arrows). It could then be used to etymologize several other words in which the relationship was less easily identifiable. Here it is used to build a functional etymology (the function of women is to receive the male sperm).