αἰσχύνη

See also: αισχύνη

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Ultimately from αἶσχος (aîskhos, “disgrace”). According to Beekes, a back-formation from αἰσχύνω (aiskhúnō, “to disgrace”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ai̯s.kʰy̌ː.nɛː/ → /ɛsˈçy.ni/ → /esˈçi.ni/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ai̯s.kʰy̌ː.nɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɛsˈkʰy.ne̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɛsˈçy.ni/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /esˈçy.ni/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /esˈçi.ni/

Noun

αἰσχῡ́νη • (aiskhū́nē) f (genitive αἰσχῡ́νης); first declension

1. (mass noun) shame, disgrace
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.10.3:

     παρὰ γὰρ τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι, σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι βαρβάροισι, καὶ ἄνδρα ὀφθῆναι γυμνόν ἐς αἰσχύνην μεγάλην φέρει.

     parà gàr toîsi Ludoîsi, skhedòn dè kaì parà toîsi álloisi barbároisi, kaì ándra ophthênai gumnón es aiskhúnēn megálēn phérei.

     For among the Lydians, and indeed among the barbarians generally, it is reckoned a deep disgrace, even to a man, to be seen naked.

2. shameful, disgraceful act
   • 416 BCE, Euripides, Herakles 1423–1424:

     ἡμεῖς δʼ ἀναλώσαντες αἰσχύναις δόμον,
     Θησεῖ πανώλεις ἑψόμεσθʼ ἐφολκίδες.

     hēmeîs dʼ analṓsantes aiskhúnais dómon,
     Thēseî panṓleis hepsómesthʼ epholkídes.

     And we, having ruined our house with shameful acts
     will follow after Theseus as all-destroyed burdens.

Inflection

First declension of ἡ αἰσχῡ́νη; τῆς αἰσχῡ́νης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ αἰσχῡ́νη hē aiskhū́nē	τὼ αἰσχῡ́νᾱ tṑ aiskhū́nā	αἱ αἰσχῦναι hai aiskhûnai
Genitive	τῆς αἰσχῡ́νης tês aiskhū́nēs	τοῖν αἰσχῡ́ναιν toîn aiskhū́nain	τῶν αἰσχῡνῶν tôn aiskhūnôn
Dative	τῇ αἰσχῡ́νῃ têi aiskhū́nēi	τοῖν αἰσχῡ́ναιν toîn aiskhū́nain	ταῖς αἰσχῡ́ναις taîs aiskhū́nais
Accusative	τὴν αἰσχῡ́νην tḕn aiskhū́nēn	τὼ αἰσχῡ́νᾱ tṑ aiskhū́nā	τᾱ̀ς αἰσχῡ́νᾱς tā̀s aiskhū́nās
Vocative	αἰσχῡ́νη aiskhū́nē	αἰσχῡ́νᾱ aiskhū́nā	αἰσχῦναι aiskhûnai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• αἰσχῡ́νω (aiskhū́nō)

Descendants

• Greek: αισχύνη (aischýni)

Further reading

• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “αἶσχος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 44
• “αἰσχύνη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “αἰσχύνη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• G152 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • blemish idem, page 83.
  • blot idem, page 85.
  • brand idem, page 93.
  • confusion idem, page 159.
  • contamination idem, page 166.
  • degradation idem, page 206.
  • discredit idem, page 231.
  • disgrace idem, page 233.
  • dishonour idem, page 234.
  • disrepute idem, page 239.
  • humiliation idem, page 410.
  • ignominy idem, page 414.
  • infamy idem, page 437.
  • modesty idem, page 538.
  • obloquy idem, page 566.
  • reflection idem, page 684.
  • reproach idem, page 698.
  • scandal idem, page 737.
  • scorn idem, page 740.
  • shame idem, page 761.
  • shyness idem, page 772.
  • slur idem, page 786.
  • smirch idem, page 787.
  • stain idem, page 809.
  • stigma idem, page 817.
  • taint idem, page 852.
  • tarnish idem, page 856.