LOGOI

The corpus record

θῆλυς

thelus

female, female, female

Generated live from the audited corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

Where it lives

  • De longitudine et brevitate vitae 5 · 28.39/10k
  • Economics 6 · 9.68/10k
  • Shield of Heracles 3 · 9.27/10k
  • Bacchae 6 · 7.98/10k
  • Leviticus 12 · 6.41/10k
  • Constitution of the Lacedaemonians 3 · 6.17/10k
  • Libation Bearers 3 · 5.58/10k
  • Galatians 1 · 4.58/10k
  • Laws 46 · 4.46/10k
  • Oeconomica II 2 · 4.25/10k
  • Trojan Women 3 · 4.24/10k
  • Hecuba 3 · 4.19/10k

Densest 12 of 61 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant — LSJ

female, female, female, she

female, θήλεια θεός a goddess, Il. 8.7; Ἥρη θῆλυς ἐοῦσα being female, 19.97, cf. A. Ag. 1231, S. Tr. 1062, E. IT 621; θήλειαι ἵπποι mares, Od. 4.636, etc.; σύες θήλειαι sows, 14.16; ὄϊς θῆλυς a ewe, Il. 10.216; θήλεια μῆλα Arat. 1068; θήλεια ἔλαφος a hind, Pi. O. 3.29; θήλεα κάμηλος Hdt. 3.102; ἡ θ. ἵππος ib. 86; θ. ὄρνις S. Fr. 477; ζῷα θ. Pl. Criti. 110c; ἄπαις θήλεος γόνου without female issue, Hdt. 3.66; θῆλυς σπορά E. Hec. 659; θήλειαι γυναῖκες Id. Or. 1205; θ. κόραι Pl. Lg. 764d: with masc

b the female

ἡ θήλεα, Att. -εια, the female, Hdt. 3.109, X. Mem. 2.1.4; ἀλέκτωρ ὥστε θηλείας πέλας A. Ag. 1671 (troch.).

c female, woman

τὸ θ. γένος the female sex, woman-kind, E. Hec. 885; τὸ θ. alone, Id. HF 536, etc.; opp. τὸ ἄρρεν, Pl. R. 454d, Arist. Metaph. 988a5; [ἡ δεῖνα] τέτοκεν θῆλυ PTeb. 422.18 (iii A.D.), al.

d

of plants and trees, Thphr. HP 3.9.1; θ. κάλαμος Dsc. 1.85; θῆλυς φοῖνιξ Ach.Tat. 1.17; θῆλυ βούτομον Thphr. HP 4.10.4.

2 of, belonging to women, by women

of or belonging to women, κουράων θῆλυς ἀϋτή Od. 6.122; θήλεα νοῦσος among the Scythians (cf. Ἐνάρεες), Hdt. 1.105; νόμος A. Ch. 821 (lyr.); φύσις Pl. R. 453a; χάρις APl. 16.287 (Leont.); θ. φόνος murder by women, E. Ba. 796.

II

metaph., of persons and things,

1 soft, gentle

soft, gentle, θῆλυς ἐέρση Od. 5.467, Hes. Sc. 395; θ. νύξ( = ὕπομβρος) S. Fr. 1053.

b most fruitful

ὕδωρ θ. καὶ μαλακόν Thphr. CP 2.6.3; θηλυτέρα ὀσμή ib. 6.15.4; θηλύτατον πεδίον most fruitful, Call. Fr. 296; θηλύτατον ὕδωρ of the Nile, Id. Sos. vii 5.

2 tender, delicate, delicate, soft, yielding, weak, effeminacy

tender, delicate, Φοίβου θήλειαι . . παρειαί Id. Ap. 37; θῆλυς ἀπὸ χροιῆς delicate of skin, Theoc. 16.49; of temper or character, soft, yielding, weak, θῆλυς ηὕρημαι τάλας S. Tr. 1075; γυνὴ δὲ θῆλυ κἀπὶ δακρύοις ἔφυ E. Med. 928; θήλεια φρήν Ar. Lys. 708, cf. E. Andr. 181; δίαιτα θηλυτέρα ἢ κατʼ ἄνδρα Plu. Mar. 34; θηλύτατος Luc. Im. 13; παλλακὴ -υτάτη Philostr. VS 2.21.2; τὸ θῆλυ τῆς ψυχῆς effeminacy, Men. 599.

3 into which others fitted, female

in mechanics, those parts were called female into which others fitted, as the female vertebra, Poll. 2.180; γίγγλυμος J. AJ 3.6.3.

4 feminine

Gramm., feminine, θήλεα [ὀνόματα] Ar. Nu. 682; θήλεα Arist. Po. 1458a10.

5 even

Pythag., of even numbers, Plu. Aet.Gr. 2.264a, 288d.

6

Astrol., of planets, Ptol. Tetr. 19; cf. θηλυκός 3c.

III

θήλειαι, αἱ, kind of cheese made in Crete, Seleuc. ap. Ath. 14.650d.

In the wild

6 of 270 attestations shown. Ask for more.

Where it came from

  • Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Brill 2010) Treated in Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Brill 2010) s.v. θῆλυς (scan pp. 593-594; entry #2567).
  • Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. θῆλυς (scan p. 449; entry #3149).

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