γυνή

Contents

Ancient GreekEdit

Ἡ γυνὴ καλέεται Σαπφὼ Λέσϐου.

Alternative formsEdit

• βανά (baná) – Boeotian
• γυνά (guná) – Doric

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn (“woman”). Cognates include Mycenaean Greek 𐀓𐀙𐀊 (ku-na-ja), Sanskrit जनि (jani), Old Armenian կին (kin), and Old English cwēn (English queen).

PronunciationEdit

 

• IPA^(key): /ɡy.nɛ̌ː/ → /ɣyˈni/ → /ʝiˈni/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɡy.nɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɡyˈne/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɣyˈni/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ʝyˈni/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ʝiˈni/

NounEdit

γῠνή • (gunḗ) f (genitive γῠναικός); third declension

1. woman, female

   412 BCE, Euripides, Helen 329

   Γυναῖκα γὰρ δὴ συμπονεῖν γυναικὶ χρή.

   Gunaîka gàr dḕ sumponeîn gunaikì khrḗ.

   A woman ought to help a woman.

   Palladas

   Πᾶσα γυνὴ χόλος ἐστὶν· ἔχει δ’ ἀγαθὰς δύο ὥρας, τὴν μίαν ἐν θαλάμῳ, τὴν μίαν ἐν θανάτῳ.

   Pâsa gunḕ khólos estìn; ékhei d’ agathàs dúo hṓras, tḕn mían en thalámōi, tḕn mían en thanátōi.

   Every woman is an annoyance. She has two good times: one in the bedroom, one in death.

2. wife

InflectionEdit

Irregular declension of ἡ γῠνή; τῆς γῠναικός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ γῠνή hē gunḗ	τὼ γῠναῖκε tṑ gunaîke	αἱ γῠναῖκες hai gunaîkes
Genitive	τῆς γῠναικός tês gunaikós	τοῖν γῠναικοῖν toîn gunaikoîn	τῶν γῠναικῶν tôn gunaikôn
Dative	τῇ γῠναικί têi gunaikí	τοῖν γῠναικοῖν toîn gunaikoîn	ταῖς γῠναιξί(ν) taîs gunaixí(n)
Accusative	τὴν γῠναῖκᾰ tḕn gunaîka	τὼ γῠναῖκε tṑ gunaîke	τᾱ̀ς γῠναῖκᾰς tā̀s gunaîkas
Vocative	γύναι gúnai	γῠναῖκε gunaîke	γῠναῖκες gunaîkes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

AntonymsEdit

• ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man, male”)

DescendantsEdit

• Greek (Modern & varieties):
  • ⇒ Greek: γυναίκα (gynaíka)
  • ⇒ Tsakonian: γουναίκα

Further readingEdit

• γυνή in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• γυνή in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• γυνή in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• γυνή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• γυνή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• γυνή in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (© 2006–2018)
• “G1135”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • consort idem, page 164.
  • dame idem, page 194.
  • lady idem, page 473.
  • matron idem, page 518.
  • spouse idem, page 805.
  • wife idem, page 978.
  • woman idem, page 986.