εὐγενής

See also: ευγενής

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From εὐ- (eu-, “well”) +‎ γένος (génos, “birth, offspring, stock”) +‎ -ής (-ḗs, adjective suffix) from γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “become”). Compare Εὐγένιος (Eugénios).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /eu̯.ɡe.nɛ̌ːs/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ew.ɡeˈne̝s/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /eβ.ʝeˈnis/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ev.ʝeˈnis/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ev.ʝeˈnis/

Adjective

εὐγενής • (eugenḗs) m or f (neuter εὐγενές); third declension

well-born, noble
- 412 BCE, Euripides, Helen 136:
  φασίν, βρόχῳ γ’ ἅψασαν εὐγενῆ δέρην.
  phasín, brókhōi g’ hápsasan eugenê dérēn.
  Yes, they say she tied a noose around her noble neck.
(in Tragedy, figurative) noble-minded, generous
- 442 BCE, Sophocles, Antigone 38:
  εἴτ’ εὐγενὴς πέφυκας
  eít’ eugenḕs péphukas
  whether you are noble-minded.
(of animals) well-bred, thoroughbred
- 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Electra 25:
  ὥσπερ ἵππος εὐγενής
  hṓsper […] híppos eugenḗs
  as a thoroughbred horse
(of a wife, figurative) fertile, fecund
- 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Cato the Younger 25.2:
  ὥσπερ εὐγενῆ χώραν ἐντεκνώσασθαι παράσχῃ
  hṓsper eugenê khṓran enteknṓsasthai paráskhēi
  to give her in turn to him as noble soil for the production of children

Inflection

Third declension of εὐγενής; εὐγενές (contracted, Attic)

Number	Singular		Dual		Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	εὐγενής eugenḗs	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενεῖς eugeneîs	εὐγενῆ eugenê
Genitive	εὐγενοῦς eugenoûs	εὐγενοῦς eugenoûs	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενῶν eugenôn	εὐγενῶν eugenôn
Dative	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενέσῐ / εὐγενέσῐν eugenésĭ(n)	εὐγενέσῐ / εὐγενέσῐν eugenésĭ(n)
Accusative	εὐγενῆ eugenê	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενεῖς eugeneîs	εὐγενῆ eugenê
Vocative	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενεῖ eugeneî	εὐγενεῖς eugeneîs	εὐγενῆ eugenê
Derived forms	Adverb		Comparative		Superlative
Derived forms	εὐγενῶς eugenôs		εὐγενέστερος eugenésteros		εὐγενέστᾰτος eugenéstătos
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of εὐγενής; εὐγενές (uncontracted, Epic)

Number	Singular		Dual		Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	εὐγενής eugenḗs	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέε eugeneî / eugenée	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέε eugeneî / eugenée	εὐγενεῖς / εὐγενέες eugeneîs / eugenées	εὐγενέᾰ eugenéă
Genitive	εὐγενέος / εὐγενεῦς eugenéos / eugeneûs	εὐγενέος / εὐγενεῦς eugenéos / eugeneûs	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενέων eugenéōn	εὐγενέων eugenéōn
Dative	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέῐ̈ eugeneî / eugenéĭ̈	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέῐ̈ eugeneî / eugenéĭ̈	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενοῖν eugenoîn	εὐγενέσῐ / εὐγενέσῐν eugenésĭ(n)	εὐγενέσῐ / εὐγενέσῐν eugenésĭ(n)
Accusative	εὐγενέᾰ eugenéă	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέε eugeneî / eugenée	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέε eugeneî / eugenée	εὐγενέᾰς eugenéăs	εὐγενέᾰ eugenéă
Vocative	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενές eugenés	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέε eugeneî / eugenée	εὐγενεῖ / εὐγενέε eugeneî / eugenée	εὐγενεῖς / εὐγενέες eugeneîs / eugenées	εὐγενέᾰ eugenéă
Derived forms	Adverb		Comparative		Superlative
Derived forms	εὐγενέως eugenéōs		εὐγενέστερος eugenésteros		εὐγενέστᾰτος eugenéstătos
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Antonyms

ἀγενής (agenḗs, “of no family, ignoble”)

Derived terms

εὐγένεια (eugéneia, noun)
εὐγενίᾱ (eugeníā, noun)
εὐγενῶς (eugenôs, adverb)

Descendants

Greek: ευγενής (evgenís)

References

“εὐγενής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“εὐγενής”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
εὐγενής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
G2104 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- bred idem, page 97.
- degree idem, page 206.
- geatleman idem, page 355.
- generous idem, page 356.
- gentle idem, page 357.
- good idem, page 366.
- great idem, page 372.
- high-born idem, page 400.
- high-minded idem, page 400.
- honourable idem, page 405.
- ingenuous idem, page 440.
- liberal idem, page 488.
- noble idem, page 559.
- patrician idem, page 599.
- thoroughbred idem, page 868.
- well-born idem, page 974.