gynaeceum
See also: gynæceum
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Latin gynaecēum, gynaecīum, from Ancient Greek γυναικεῖον (gunaikeîon), from γυνή (gunḗ, “woman”). By surface analysis, gynaec- + -eum.
Noun edit
gynaeceum (plural gynaeceums or gynaecea)
- (Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome) The women's quarters in a household; (hence, loosely) any building or area for women.
- 1926, PL Jacob, History of Prostitution, page 249:
- A master, however this may be, was very jealous of the inmates of his gyneceum, and he permitted no one to enter the place, which was protected as a sanctuary in the legislation of the Barbarians.
- 1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 61:
- It was agreeable to see men, after days in this gyneceum, bringing the place to life, to see waiters speeding to their command.
- (obsolete) An establishment in Rome where female workers made clothing and furniture for royalty.
- (botany) A gynoecium.
- 1929, Arthur Henry Reginald Buller, Practical Botany, page 205:
- The androecium functions by providing the pollen-grains which are necessary to bring about fertilisation of the ovules in the gynaeceum.
Synonyms edit
- (women's quarters) gynaeconitis
Translations edit
women's quarters in a household
establishment in Rome
References edit
- William Dwight Whitney (1906) The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, page 2667
Latin edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Ancient Greek γυναικεῖον (gunaikeîon).
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ɡy.nae̯ˈkeː.um/, [ɡʏnäe̯ˈkeːʊ̃ˑ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /d͡ʒi.neˈt͡ʃe.um/, [d͡ʒineˈt͡ʃɛːum]
Noun edit
gynaecēum n (genitive gynaecēī); second declension
Declension edit
Second-declension noun (neuter).
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | gynaecēum | gynaecēa |
Genitive | gynaecēī | gynaecēōrum |
Dative | gynaecēō | gynaecēīs |
Accusative | gynaecēum | gynaecēa |
Ablative | gynaecēō | gynaecēīs |
Vocative | gynaecēum | gynaecēa |
References edit
- “gynaeceum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “gynaeceum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- gynaeceum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)