νύμφη
Ancient Greek
Alternative forms
- νῠ́μφᾱ (númphā) – Doric
Etymology
Maybe from the same origin as Latin nūbō (“marry”) (English nubile), from Proto-Indo-European *snewbʰ- (“to marry, to wed”). Beekes argues for a Pre-Greek origin.
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /ným.pʰɛː/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈnym.pʰe̝/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈnym.ɸi/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈnym.fi/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈnim.fi/
Noun
νῠ́μφη • (númphē) f (genitive νῠ́μφης); first declension
- bride, young wife
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 18.492:
- […], νύμφας δ᾽ ἐκ θαλάμων δαΐδων ὕπο λαμπομενάων ἠγίνεον ἀνὰ ἄστυ, […]
- […], númphas d᾽ ek thalámōn daḯdōn húpo lampomenáōn ēgíneon anà ástu, […]
- […], νύμφας δ᾽ ἐκ θαλάμων δαΐδων ὕπο λαμπομενάων ἠγίνεον ἀνὰ ἄστυ, […]
- young, nubile woman; marriageable maiden
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 9.560:
- […]: καί ῥα ἄνακτος ἐναντίον εἵλετο τόξον Φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος καλλισφύρου εἵνεκα νύμφης, […]
- […]: kaí rha ánaktos enantíon heíleto tóxon Phoíbou Apóllōnos kallisphúrou heíneka númphēs, […]
- […]: καί ῥα ἄνακτος ἐναντίον εἵλετο τόξον Φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος καλλισφύρου εἵνεκα νύμφης, […]
- daughter-in-law
- 300 BCE – 200 BCE, 1 Samuel 4.19:
- Καὶ νύμφη αὐτοῦ γυνὴ Φινεὲς συνειληφυῖα τοῦ τεκεῖν· […]
- Kaì númphē autoû gunḕ Phineès suneilēphuîa toû tekeîn; […]
- Καὶ νύμφη αὐτοῦ γυνὴ Φινεὲς συνειληφυῖα τοῦ τεκεῖν· […]
- (Epigraphic Ancient Greek) young girl
- (Greek mythology, sometimes capitalized) nymph, goddess of lower rank
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 6.105:
- […]: τῇ δέ θ᾽ ἅμα νύμφαι, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο, ἀγρονόμοι παίζουσι, γέγηθε δέ τε φρένα Λητώ: […]
- […]: têi dé th᾽ háma númphai, koûrai Diòs aigiókhoio, agronómoi paízousi, gégēthe dé te phréna Lētṓ: […]
- […]: τῇ δέ θ᾽ ἅμα νύμφαι, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο, ἀγρονόμοι παίζουσι, γέγηθε δέ τε φρένα Λητώ: […]
- goddess of springs; (poetry) spring, spring water
- 314 CE – 393 CE, Libanius, Orations 11.28
- doll, puppet
- 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Julius Caesar 332d:
- […], ἥ τε μήτηρ τοῦ Καίσαρος Αὐρηλία γυνὴ σώφρων περιέπουσα τὴν νύμφην ἀεὶ χαλεπὴν καὶ παρακεκινδυνευμένην αὐτοῖς ἐποίει τὴν ἔντευξιν.
- […], hḗ te mḗtēr toû Kaísaros Aurēlía gunḕ sṓphrōn periépousa tḕn númphēn aeì khalepḕn kaì parakekinduneuménēn autoîs epoíei tḕn énteuxin.
- […], ἥ τε μήτηρ τοῦ Καίσαρος Αὐρηλία γυνὴ σώφρων περιέπουσα τὴν νύμφην ἀεὶ χαλεπὴν καὶ παρακεκινδυνευμένην αὐτοῖς ἐποίει τὴν ἔντευξιν.
- bee or wasp in pupa stage
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 5.19:
- […]· ὅταν δ' ἐκ τῶν σκωλήκων εἰς τὴν διατύπωσιν ἔλθωσι, καλοῦνται μὲν νύμφαι τότε, […]
- […]; hótan d' ek tôn skōlḗkōn eis tḕn diatúpōsin élthōsi, kaloûntai mèn númphai tóte, […]
- […]· ὅταν δ' ἐκ τῶν σκωλήκων εἰς τὴν διατύπωσιν ἔλθωσι, καλοῦνται μὲν νύμφαι τότε, […]
- winged male ant
- AD 5th C., Hesychius Alexandreus, Συναγωγὴ Πασῶν Λέξεων κατὰ Στοιχεῖον
- A kind of mollusk.
- (agriculture) point of a plowshare
- (anatomy) hollow between the lower lip and the chin
- (zootomy) depression on the shoulder of a horse
- opening rosebud
- (anatomy) clitoris, also the labia minora [from 2nd c.]
- 129 CE – 216 CE, Galen, Of the Uses of the Different Parts of the Human Body 15.3
- niche
Inflection
First declension of ἡ νῠ́μφη; τῆς νῠ́μφης (Attic)
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ἡ νῠ́μφη hē númphē | τὼ νῠ́μφᾱ tṑ númphā | αἱ νῠ́μφαι hai númphai | ||||||||||
Genitive | τῆς νῠ́μφης tês númphēs | τοῖν νῠ́μφαιν toîn númphain | τῶν νῠμφῶν tôn numphôn | ||||||||||
Dative | τῇ νῠ́μφῃ têi númphēi | τοῖν νῠ́μφαιν toîn númphain | ταῖς νῠ́μφαις taîs númphais | ||||||||||
Accusative | τὴν νῠ́μφην tḕn númphēn | τὼ νῠ́μφᾱ tṑ númphā | τᾱ̀ς νῠ́μφᾱς tā̀s númphās | ||||||||||
Vocative | νῠ́μφη númphē | νῠ́μφᾱ númphā | νῠ́μφαι númphai | ||||||||||
Notes: |
|
First declension of νῠ́μφη; νῠ́μφης (Epic)
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | νῠ́μφη númphē | νῠ́μφᾱ númphā | νῠ́μφαι númphai | ||||||||||
Genitive | νῠ́μφης númphēs | νῠ́μφαιν / νῠ́μφαιῐν / νῠ́μφῃῐν númphai(i)n / númphēiin | νῠμφᾱ́ων / νῠμφέ͜ων / νῠμφῶν numphā́ōn / numphé͜ōn / numphôn | ||||||||||
Dative | νῠ́μφῃ númphēi | νῠ́μφαιν / νῠ́μφαιῐν / νῠ́μφῃῐν númphai(i)n / númphēiin | νῠ́μφῃσῐ / νῠ́μφῃσῐν / νῠ́μφῃς / νῠ́μφαις númphēisi(n) / númphēis / númphais | ||||||||||
Accusative | νῠ́μφην númphēn | νῠ́μφᾱ númphā | νῠ́μφᾱς númphās | ||||||||||
Vocative | νῠ́μφη / νῠ́μφᾰ númphē / númpha | νῠ́μφᾱ númphā | νῠ́μφαι númphai | ||||||||||
Notes: |
|
Antonyms
Antonym: νυμφίος (numphíos); a bridegroom
Derived terms
- ᾰ̓́νῠμφος (ánumphos)
- δῠ́σνῠμφος (dúsnumphos)
- εὔνῠμφος (eúnumphos)
- κᾰκόνῠμφος (kakónumphos)
- κλεψῐ́νῠμφος (klepsínumphos)
- λᾱθρόνῠμφος (lāthrónumphos)
- μελλόνῠμφος (mellónumphos)
- μῑσόνῠμφος (mīsónumphos)
- νεόνῠμφος (neónumphos)
- νῠμφᾱγενής (numphāgenḗs)
- νῠμφᾱγέτης (numphāgétēs)
- νῠμφᾰγωγός (numphagōgós)
- νῠμφαῖος (numphaîos)
- νῠμφεῖος (numpheîos)
- νῠμφεύω (numpheúō)
- νῠμφῐ́δες (numphídes)
- νῠμφῐ́δῐος (numphídios)
- νῠμφῐκός (numphikós)
- νῠμφῐ́ος (numphíos)
- νῠμφόβᾱς (numphóbās)
- νῠμφογέννητος (numphogénnētos)
- νῠμφόκλαυτος (numphóklautos)
- νῠμφοκόμος (numphokómos)
- νῠμφόληπτος (numphólēptos)
- νῠμφοπόνος (numphopónos)
- νῠμφοστόλος (numphostólos)
- νῠμφοτερεῖς (numphotereîs)
- νῠμφότῑμος (numphótīmos)
- νῠμφοτομέω (numphotoméō)
- νῠμφοτομῐ́ᾱ (numphotomíā)
- νῠμφοτροφέω (numphotrophéō)
- νῠμφοφόρος (numphophóros)
- νῠμφώδης (numphṓdēs)
- νῠμφών (numphṓn)
- ὁμόνῠμφος (homónumphos)
- πᾰλεονῠμφᾱ́γονος (paleonumphā́gonos)
- πᾰρᾰ́νῠμφος (paránumphos)
- πολῠ́νῠμφος (polúnumphos)
- προνῠ́μφῐος (pronúmphios)
- σῠννῠμφοκόμος (sunnumphokómos)
- σῠ́ννῠμφος (súnnumphos)
- ῠ̔πονῠμφῐ́ς (huponumphís)
Related terms
- νῠ́μφαιον (númphaion)
- νῠμφᾰ́ς (numphás)
- νῠμφᾰ́σμᾰτᾰ (numphásmata)
- νῠ́μφευμᾰ (númpheuma)
- νῠ́μφευσῐς (númpheusis)
- νῠμφευτήρ (numpheutḗr)
- νῠμφευτήρῐος (numpheutḗrios)
- νῠμφευτής (numpheutḗs)
- νῠμφεύτρῐᾰ (numpheútria)
- νῠμφῐᾰ́ω (numphiáō)
Descendants
Descendants of νῠ́μφη in other languages
- Greek: νύμφη f (nýmfi, “bride, nymph, pupa”), νύφη f (nýfi, “bride”)
- → Latin: lympha, limpha
- → Catalan: limfa
- → French: lymphe
- → English: lymph, lymphe
- → Galician: linfa
- → Italian: linfa
- → Portuguese: linfa
- → Romanian: limfă
- → Spanish: linfa
- → Latin: nympha, nymphē
- Asturian: ninfa
- Catalan: nimfa
- Old French: nimphe
- French: nymphe
- → Middle Dutch: nymphe
- Dutch: nimf
- → Middle English: nimphe, nymphe, nemphe
- English: nymph
- Italian: ninfa
- Portuguese: ninfa
- Romanian: nimfă
- Sicilian: ninfa
- Spanish: ninfa
- Welsh: nymff
- → Russian: ни́мфа f (nímfa)
References
- “νύμφη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Further reading
- “νύμφη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “νύμφη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “νύμφη”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
- νύμφη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
- νύμφη in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
- G3565 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
- νύμφη in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- bride idem, page 97.
- elf idem, page 265.
- fairy idem, page 302.
- nymph idem, page 563.
- sylph idem, page 850.
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
Greek
Etymology
From Ancient Greek νύμφη (númphē).
Noun
νύμφη • (nýmfi) f (plural νύμφες)
- bride
- (Greek mythology) nymph, female sprite, female nature spirit
- (zoology) nymph, larva
- (zoology) pupa, chrysalis
Declension
declension of νύμφη
case \\ number | singular | plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | νύμφη • | νύμφες • |
genitive | νύμφης • | νυμφών • |
accusative | νύμφη • | νύμφες • |
vocative | νύμφη • | νύμφες • |
Synonyms
- (bride): νύφη f (nýfi)
- (chrysalis, pupa): χρυσαλλίδα f (chrysallída)
Further reading
νύμφη on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia el