φύσις

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /pʰý.sis/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈɸy.sis/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈfy.sis/^[1]

Forms

φῠ́σῐς (phúsis) f (genitive φῠ́σεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-tís, an action noun of the root of φύω (phúō, “to bring forth, grow”), with the suffix -σις (-sis).^[1] Cognate with Sanskrit भूति (bhūtí, “existence, power”) and Proto-Slavic *bytь (“essence”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it only once, in the Odyssey (10.303), for the physical nature of a thing.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Empedocles uses it for origin and coming into being, and Plato and Aristotle say that φύσις is meant to signify “genesis”.^[4] For persons it was birth, so that a father “by nature” differed from an adoptive one.^[4] The Hippocratic writers used it for growth.^[4] From Aeschylus on it meant a person's physique and appearance, and in Pindar one's innate disposition and character;^[2] Thucydides speaks of “human nature”.^[2]

Heraclitus, Plato and Xenophon used it for the inherent character of a thing, and φύσει meant “by nature, intrinsically”.^[2] It became the natural order of things, set against human convention.^[2] In the New Testament, Galatians 2:15 has “we who are Jews by nature”, that is by birth.^[5] The modern form is Modern Greek φύση (físi).^[6]

Timeline

• Homer – The Odyssey uses it once.^[2][3]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for innate character;^[2] Aeschylus for appearance.^[2][7]
• 5th century BC – Empedocles uses it for origin;^[4] Thucydides speaks of human nature.^[4][2][7]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle defines it as genesis.^[4][7]
• 1st century AD – Paul uses it for birth or descent.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Origin, birth.^[4][1]
2. Growth.^[4]
3. Physique, appearance, form.^[2][1]
4. Inherent character, nature, quality.^[2][1]
5. Innate disposition, temperament; human nature.^[2]
6. The natural order of things, nature, as opposed to convention.^[2]
7. A kind, type; a creature.^[1]

Word family

• ἀπόφυσις (apóphusis)
• ἔκφυσις (ékphusis)
• πρόσφυσις (prósphusis)
• σύμφυσις (súmphusis)
• φυσικός (phusikós)
• ἀνάφυσις (anáphusis)
• διάφυσις (diáphusis)
• ἔμφυσις (émphusis)
• κατάφυσις (katáphusis)
• παράφυσις (paráphusis)
• περίφυσις (períphusis)
• πρόφυσις (próphusis)
• ὑπόφυσις (hupóphusis)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
6. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
7. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge