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σωφροσύνη. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
σωφροσύνη, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
σωφροσύνη in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Ancient Greek
Etymology
From σώφρων (sṓphrōn, “wise”) + -σῠ́νη (-súnē).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɔː.pʰro.sý.nɛː/ → /so.ɸroˈsy.ni/ → /so.froˈsi.ni/
Noun
σωφροσῠ́νη • (sōphrosúnē) f (genitive σωφροσῠ́νης); first declension
- soundness of mind, prudence, discretion; sanity
386 BCE – 367 BCE,
Plato,
Meno 73b:
- Σωκράτης τῶν αὐτῶν ἄρα ἀμφότεροι δέονται, εἴπερ μέλλουσιν ἀγαθοὶ εἶναι, καὶ ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ὁ ἀνήρ, δικαιοσύνης καὶ σωφροσύνης.
- Sōkrátēs tôn autôn ára amphóteroi déontai, eíper méllousin agathoì eînai, kaì hē gunḕ kaì ho anḗr, dikaiosúnēs kaì sōphrosúnēs.
- Socrates: Then men and women both need the same things, if they want to be good: justice and prudence.
- moderation in sensual desires, self-control, temperance
385 BCE – 380 BCE,
Plato,
Symposium 196c:
- εἶναι γὰρ ὁμολογεῖται σωφροσύνη τὸ κρατεῖν ἡδονῶν καὶ ἐπιθυμιῶν
- eînai gàr homologeîtai sōphrosúnē tò krateîn hēdonôn kaì epithumiôn
- For it is agreed that prudence is the restraining of pleasures and desires.
- (politics) a moderate form of government
Inflection
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “prudence”): ἀφροσύνη (aphrosúnē)
- (antonym(s) of “sanity”): μανία (manía)
Descendants
References
- “σωφροσύνη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- σωφροσύνη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- G4997 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.
- abstemiousness idem, page 4.
- abstinence idem, page 4.
- asceticism idem, page 43.
- continence idem, page 168.
- control idem, page 170.
- discretion idem, page 231.
- judiciousness idem, page 465.
- moderation idem, page 537.
- prudence idem, page 655.
- restraint idem, page 705.
- sagacity idem, page 731.
- self-denial idem, page 751.
- sobriety idem, page 790.
- temperance idem, page 860.
- wisdom idem, page 982.