σῴζω + φρόνησις
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
σωφροσύνην
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
sōphrosunē
English translation (word)
soundness of mind
Transliteration (Etymon)
sōzō + phronēsis
English translation (etymon)
to preserve sound thinking
Century
4 BC
Source
Idem
Ref.
Nichomachean Ethics 1140b11-12
Ed.
I. Bywater, Aristotle's Ethica Nicomachea, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1894
Translation (En)
Other translation(s)
Modern Greek: από όπου και ονομάζουμε τη "σωφροσύνη" με τη συγκεκριμένη λέξη, εφόσον διατηρεί τη σωστή σκέψη
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 742 (σωφροσύνη: παρὰ τὸ σῴζειν τὸ φρονεῖν)
Modern etymology
Derivative from σώφρων "wise", from σῶς (σάος) "safe and sound" + φρήν
Persistence in Modern Greek
The word is still used in Modern Greek with the meaning 'prudence'
Entry By
Maria Chriti
Comment
The etymology identifies a verb-initial compound sōzō-phrosunē with the usual dropping of a few elements. It is not correct in the detail, but is not so remote from the true etymology: sōzō "to save" is derived from sōs "safe" and phronēsis from phrēn "spirit", which are the building pieces of sōphrōn "wise, moderate", on which sōphrosunē is built