ὑγρός

Forms

ὑγρός (hugrós) m (feminine ὑγρᾱ́, neuter ὑγρόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *ugrós.^[1] Wiktionary takes it from Proto-Indo-European *wegʷ- (“wet, moist”), and Beekes reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *ugʷ-ro-.^[1][2] The possible cognates are Old Norse vǫkr (“moist, wet”), from Proto-Germanic *wakwaz, and Latin ūvidus and ūdus, with the same meaning.^[2] Beekes suggests that all of them may go back to one root Proto-Indo-European *u(e/o)gʷ-.^[2] Chantraine calls the origin uncertain: he accepts the Norse comparison but finds the link with the Latin words not very plausible.^[3]

Ancient grammarians had their own explanations: Orion explained it as “watery”, and Herodian derived it from ὕω (húō, “to rain”), with an added γ.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it means wet or fluid, and above all names the sea: the feminine is used alone for “the wet”, as opposed to the dry land.^[5][6] Homer also calls oil “liquid” as opposed to solid fat.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word covered both what flows and what is soaked or soft.^[2][5] Prose made the neuter a noun for moisture or liquid, as in Herodotus and Plato, and Plato speaks of liquid and dry measures.^[6][5] The Hippocratic writers have it of loose bowels, and Galen of a “moist” pulse.^[6]

From softness came the senses “supple, pliant”: Pindar uses it of the eagle's back, and tragedy of the arms of a dying person, limp and feeble.^[6][5] It also described tender young creatures, eyes melting with desire, and a mind “moist” with wine: Heraclitus already says the drunkard has a wet soul.^[6]

Modern Greek υγρός (ygrós) is a learned continuation, and its use for liquids follows French liquide.^[7] English has the combining form hygro- from the Greek word.^[8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of liquid oil and, in the feminine, of the sea.^[6][5][9]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of the supple back of Zeus's eagle, and Heraclitus speaks of a soul made moist by drink.^[6][10]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the neuter for moisture and liquid, and Sophocles uses it of a dying person's limp arm.^[6][5][10]
• 4th century BC – Plato speaks of liquid and dry measures, and Aristotle of flabby flesh.^[6][10]
• 2nd century AD – Galen defines the “moist” pulse.^[6][10]
• 2nd century AD – Herodian derives the word from the verb for raining.^[4]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek υγρός (ygrós) survives as a learned word.^[7][11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. wet, moist, fluid; flowing, of water and the sea.^[6][5]
2. (feminine as noun) The sea.^[6][5]
3. (neuter as noun) Moisture; a liquid.^[6][5]
4. In liquid form, as opposed to solid: liquid oil.^[5][6]
5. Damp, soaked; rainy, of night and clouds.^[5]
6. (medicine) Loose, of the bowels.^[6]
7. supple, pliant; of a dying person, limp and feeble.^[6][5]
8. Flabby, of flesh; tender, of young creatures.^[6]
9. Moist with wine, tipsy; of the eyes, melting, languishing.^[6]

Word family

• ὑγρόφθογγος (hugróphthongos)

Related words

• English hygro-

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
11. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας