Etymologically
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φύσις

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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