σωφροσύνη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• σωφροσῠ́νᾱ (sōphrosúnā) — Doric
• σᾰοφροσῠ́νη (saophrosúnē) — Epic, poetic

Etymology

From σώφρων (sṓphrōn, “wise”) +‎ -σῠ́νη (-súnē).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sɔː.pʰro.sý.nɛː/ → /so.ɸroˈsy.ni/ → /so.froˈsi.ni/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sɔː.pʰro.sý.nɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /so.pʰroˈsy.ne̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /so.ɸroˈsy.ni/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /so.froˈsy.ni/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /so.froˈsi.ni/

Noun

σωφροσῠ́νη • (sōphrosúnē) f (genitive σωφροσῠ́νης); first declension

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. (politics) a moderate form of government

Inflection

First declension of ἡ σωφροσῠ́νη; τῆς σωφροσῠ́νης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σωφροσῠ́νη hē sōphrosúnē	τὼ σωφροσῠ́νᾱ tṑ sōphrosúnā	αἱ σωφροσῠ́ναι hai sōphrosúnai
Genitive	τῆς σωφροσῠ́νης tês sōphrosúnēs	τοῖν σωφροσῠ́ναιν toîn sōphrosúnain	τῶν σωφροσῠνῶν tôn sōphrosunôn
Dative	τῇ σωφροσῠ́νῃ têi sōphrosúnēi	τοῖν σωφροσῠ́ναιν toîn sōphrosúnain	ταῖς σωφροσῠ́ναις taîs sōphrosúnais
Accusative	τὴν σωφροσῠ́νην tḕn sōphrosúnēn	τὼ σωφροσῠ́νᾱ tṑ sōphrosúnā	τᾱ̀ς σωφροσῠ́νᾱς tā̀s sōphrosúnās
Vocative	σωφροσῠ́νη sōphrosúnē	σωφροσῠ́νᾱ sōphrosúnā	σωφροσῠ́ναι sōphrosúnai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “prudence”): ἀφροσύνη (aphrosúnē)
• (antonym(s) of “sanity”): μανία (manía)

Descendants

• English: sophrosyne
• Greek: σωφροσύνη (sofrosýni)

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^[1], 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.