θῆλυς

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Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-lu-s, from *dʰeh₁(y)- (to suck). One especially close cognate is Sanskrit धारु (dhārú, suckling); others include Latin fēmina, fētus, fīlius, Sanskrit धयति (dhayati), Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬥𐬎 (daēnu), Old Armenian դիեմ (diem), Old Church Slavonic доити (doiti). See also θηλή (thēlḗ, breast, nipple).[1]

The "abundant" sense may be related to θάλλω (thállō, to flourish). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

 

Adjective

θῆλῠς (thêlusm (feminine θήλειᾰ, neuter θῆλῠ); first/third declension

  1. female
    θήλεια θεός/θεᾱ́thḗleia theós/theā́goddess (literally, “female god”)
    • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.66.2:
      Καμβύσεα τὸν Κύρου, ἄπαιδα τὸ παράπαν ἐόντα ἔρσενος καὶ θήλεος γόνου
      Kambúsea tòn Kúrou, [] ápaida tò parápan eónta érsenos kaì thḗleos gónou
      Cambyses son of Cyrus, who was altogether childless, without male or female issue.
  2. of or belonging to women, womanly, feminine
    • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 6.122:
      ὥς τέ με κουράων ἀμφήλυθε θῆλυς ἀϋτή
      hṓs té me kouráōn amphḗluthe thêlus aütḗ
      There rang in my ears a womanly cry, as of maidens.
  3. soft, gentle
    • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 5.467:
      μή μ’ ἄμυδις στίβη τε κακὴ καὶ θῆλυς ἐέρση
      mḗ m’ ámudis stíbē te kakḕ kaì thêlus eérsē
      I fear that together the bitter frost and the gentle dew may overcome me.
  4. tender, delicate
    • 431 BCE, Euripides, Medea 928:
      γυνὴ δὲ θῆλυ κἀπὶ δακρύοις ἔφυ
      gunḕ dè thêlu kapì dakrúois éphu
      But a woman is by nature delicate and prone to tears.
  5. female (having an internal socket, into which another part fits)
  6. (grammar) feminine
  7. (mathematics) even
  8. (astrology) negative or feminine sign (one of Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, or Pisces)
  9. abundant

Inflection

This is one of the two non-compounded adjectives in -ύς, -εῖα, -ύ, along with ἥμισυς (hḗmisus), that have a recessive accent. See also ἐλαχύς (elakhús), λιγύς (ligús).

Antonyms

Derived terms

See also

References

  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “θῆλυς”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 546-7

Further reading