ψόα

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ψύα (psúa)

Etymology

The word is related to similar words meaning "foxes", like ψειαί (pseiaí), ψίαι (psíai), φοῦαι (phoûai) and φύλλες (phúlles). These variations cannot be all understood in Indo-European terms. The connection with ὀσφῦς (osphûs, “hips or loins”), suggested by Prellwitz, is quite possible. According to Beekes, the word is clearly Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /psó.aː/ → /ˈpso.a/ → /ˈpso.a/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /psó.aː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpso.a/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpso.a/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpso.a/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpso.a/

Noun

ψόᾱ • (psóā) f (genitive ψόᾱς); first declension

1. (anatomy) muscles of the loins

Inflection

First declension of ἡ ψόᾱ; τῆς ψόᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ψόᾱ hē psóā	τὼ ψόᾱ tṑ psóā	αἱ ψόαι hai psóai
Genitive	τῆς ψόᾱς tês psóās	τοῖν ψόαιν toîn psóain	τῶν ψοῶν tôn psoôn
Dative	τῇ ψόᾳ têi psóāi	τοῖν ψόαιν toîn psóain	ταῖς ψόαις taîs psóais
Accusative	τὴν ψόᾱν tḕn psóān	τὼ ψόᾱ tṑ psóā	τᾱ̀ς ψόᾱς tā̀s psóās
Vocative	ψόᾱ psóā	ψόᾱ psóā	ψόαι psóai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → English: psoas

Further reading

• “ψόα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ψόα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ψόαι”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1669