ἄρσην

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ἄρρην (árrhēn) — Attic
ἄρσης (ársēs) — Laconian
ἔρσην (érsēn) — Aeolic, Cretan, Epidaurian, Herodotus
ἄρσηνος (ársēnos)

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *(w)ə́rsēn, from Proto-Indo-European *wérsēn (“male”).^[1]

Cognates include Sanskrit ऋषभ (ṛṣabha), वृषन् (vṛṣan), वृष (vṛṣa), Latin verrēs, Old Persian (aršan), and Old Armenian առն (aṙn).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ár.sɛːn/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈar.se̝n/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈar.sin/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈar.sin/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈar.sin/

Adjective

ᾰ̓́ρσην • (ársēn) m or f (neuter ᾰ̓́ρσεν); third declension (Epic, Ionic, Tragic)

male
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 8.7:
  Μήτέ τις οὖν θήλεια θεὸς τό γε μήτέ τις ἄρσην πειράτω διακέρσαι ἐμὸν ἔπος.
  Mḗté tis oûn thḗleia theòs tó ge mḗté tis ársēn peirátō diakérsai emòn épos.
  Let no god, neither female nor male, essay to thwart my word.
masculine, manly, strong
- 408 BCE, Euripides, Orestes 1204:
  Ὦ τὰς φρένας μὲν ἄρσενας κεκτημένη, τὸ σῶμα δ’ ἐν γυναιξὶ θηλείαις πρέπον.
  Ô tàs phrénas mèn ársenas kektēménē, tò sôma d’ en gunaixì thēleíais prépon.
  O you that have a masculine spirit, though your body shows you to be a woman!
(of plants) coarse, tough
- 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Women of Trachis 1196:
  Πολλὴν μὲν ὕλην τῆς βαθυρρίζου δρυὸς κείραντα, πολλὸν δ’ ἄρσεν’ ἐκτεμόνθ’ ὁμοῦ ἄγριον ἔλαιον.
  Pollḕn mèn húlēn tês bathurrhízou druòs keíranta, pollòn d’ ársen’ ektemónth’ homoû ágrion élaion.
  There hew the wood of deeply-rooted oaks and slash the trunks of wild tough olive trees.
(grammar) masculine
- 423 BCE, Aristophanes, The Clouds 682:
  Ἔτι δή γε περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων μαθεῖν σε δεῖ, ἅττ’ ἄρρεν’ ἐστίν, ἅττα δ’ αὐτῶν θήλεα.
  Éti dḗ ge perì tôn onomátōn matheîn se deî, hátt’ árrhen’ estín, hátta d’ autôn thḗlea.
  You must learn one thing more about names, what are masculine and what of them are feminine.

Inflection

Third declension of ᾰ̓́ρσην; ᾰ̓́ρσεν (Attic)

Number	Singular		Dual		Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ᾰ̓́ρσην ársēn	ᾰ̓́ρσεν ársen	ᾰ̓́ρσενε ársene	ᾰ̓́ρσενε ársene	ᾰ̓́ρσενες ársenes	ᾰ̓́ρσενᾰ ársena
Genitive	ᾰ̓́ρσενος ársenos	ᾰ̓́ρσενος ársenos	ᾰ̓ρσένοιν arsénoin	ᾰ̓ρσένοιν arsénoin	ᾰ̓ρσένων arsénōn	ᾰ̓ρσένων arsénōn
Dative	ᾰ̓́ρσενῐ árseni	ᾰ̓́ρσενῐ árseni	ᾰ̓ρσένοιν arsénoin	ᾰ̓ρσένοιν arsénoin	ᾰ̓́ρσεσῐ / ᾰ̓́ρσεσῐν ársesi(n)	ᾰ̓́ρσεσῐ / ᾰ̓́ρσεσῐν ársesi(n)
Accusative	ᾰ̓́ρσενᾰ ársena	ᾰ̓́ρσεν ársen	ᾰ̓́ρσενε ársene	ᾰ̓́ρσενε ársene	ᾰ̓́ρσενᾰς ársenas	ᾰ̓́ρσενᾰ ársena
Vocative	ᾰ̓́ρσεν ársen	ᾰ̓́ρσεν ársen	ᾰ̓́ρσενε ársene	ᾰ̓́ρσενε ársene	ᾰ̓́ρσενες ársenes	ᾰ̓́ρσενᾰ ársena
Derived forms	Adverb		Comparative		Superlative
Derived forms	ᾰ̓ρσένως arsénōs		ᾰ̓ρσέντερος arsénteros		ᾰ̓ρσέντᾰτος arséntatos
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄρσην, -ενος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 141

ἄρσην

Contents

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Inflection

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

See also

References

Further reading

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