πόσις (ἡ)
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Et. Gen. (AB): πόσις· παρὰ τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος φύσιν, ἐπειδή μιγνύμενον τῇ γῇ γεννητικὸν (Β: om. Α) γίνεται τῶν φυτῶν καί σπερμάτων· οὕτως καὶ (A: om. Β) ὁ άνὴρ μιγνύμενος τῇ γυναικὶ αἴτιος (Β: -ον Α) γίνεται τῆς τοῦ παιδὸς (τοῦ π. Α: παιδῶν Β) γεννήσεως· οὕτως Ἡρακλείδης.
Translation (En)
Posis "husband": from the nature of water, since mixed with earth it becomes source of generation for the seeds and plants. Similarly man, united with a woman, becomes cause of the generation of a child. This is what Heraclides say.
Parallels
Orion, Etymologicum, pi, p. 133 (Πόσις. ὁ ἀνήρ. παρὰ τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος φύσιν. ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ μιγνύμενον τῇ γῇ γεννητικὸν γίνεται. μιγνύμενος δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ τῇ γυναικὶ γενέσεως αἴτιος γίνεται); Etym. Gudianum, pi, p. 477 (Πόσις, ὁ ἀνὴρ, παρὰ τὸ τὴν πόσιν τοῦ ὕδατος· ἐπειδὴ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ αὐτὸ μιγνύμενον τῇ γῇ γεννητικὸν γίνεται· ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ τῇ γυναικὶ μιγνύμενος, γενέσεως αἴτιος γίνεται. Πόσις, δύο σημαίνει, τὸ τε πόμα καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα· λέγεται δὲ ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τοῦ ὕδατος ὁ ἀνὴρ πόσις, καὶ κλίνεται πόσιος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 684 (Πόσις: Δύο σημαίνει, τό τε πόμα καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα. Λέγεται ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τοῦ ὕδατος ὁ ἀνὴρ πόσις, παρὰ τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος φύσιν· ἐπειδὴ μιγνύμενον τῇ γῇ γεννητικὸν γίνεται τῶν φυτῶν καὶ σπερμάτων. Οὕτως καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ, μιγνύμενος τῇ γυναικὶ, αἴτιος γίνεται τῆς τῶν παίδων γενέσεως); Eustathius, Comm. Od. 1, 9 (παρωνόμασται δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς πόσεως ὁ πόσις ὡς δοκεῖ τοῖς παλαιοῖς, διὰ τὴν σπερματικὴν ὑγρότητα. ὡς καὶ ὁ ἄρσην, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄρδειν. καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕειν. διὸ καὶ τὸ ὀπυίειν, ἐντεῦθεν αὐτοῖς ἐδόκει παράγεσθαι. οἱονεὶ τὸ διὰ τῆς ὀπῆς ὕειν ὅθεν ὁ υἱός)
Comment
Elliptic etymology relying on the formal identity between ὁ πόσις "husband" and ἡ πόσις "the drink". The one is converted into the other through a change of gender (etymology by conversion). This is why the etymon is not explicitly given since it is identical with the lemma: Greek lexicographers did not always distinguish two different words, see Hesychius, Lexicon, pi 3107 πόσις· πόμα. ἀνήρ. πότος ἢ οἴνου ἢ ὕδατος, where under the same lemma are given both "husband" (masc.) and "drink" (fem.).The metaphor, referring to the liquid nature of sperm, is developed in Eustathius (see Parallels): the analogy of sperm with rain as fertilizing liquid is old and widespread (see the myth of Gaia and Ouranos).