# νύμφη
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* νῠ́μφᾱ (nŭ́mphā) — Doric

### Etymology

Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *snewbʰ- (“to marry, to wed”), and compared with Latin nūbō (“to marry”) (whence English nubile). However, Beekes argues for a Pre-Greek origin, as the preceding theory does not explain the origin of the inner nasal -μ- (-m-); others including Kretschmer have also argued for substrate origin, comparing the proper name Νυμφασία (Numphasía).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ným.pʰɛː/ → /ˈnym.ɸi/ → /ˈnim.fi/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /ným.pʰɛː/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈnym.pʰe̝/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈnym.ɸi/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈnym.fi/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈnim.fi/

### Noun

νῠ́μφη • (nŭ́mphē) 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, […]
** 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, […]
** 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; […]
*** 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Septuagint, Ruth 1.8:Καὶ εἶπε Νωεμὶν, ταῖς δυσὶ νύμφαις αὐτῆς […] Kaì eîpe Nōemìn, taîs dusì númphais autês […]
** (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: […]
** 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.
* 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, […]
* winged male ant
** 5th century CE, 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

#### Antonyms

Antonym: νυμφίος (numphíos, “a bridegroom”)

#### Derived terms

* ᾰ̓́νῠμφος (ắnŭmphos)
* δῠ́σνῠμφος (dŭ́snŭmphos)
* εὔνῠμφος (eúnŭmphos)
* κᾰκόνῠμφος (kăkónŭmphos)
* κλεψῐ́νῠμφος (klepsĭ́nŭmphos)
* λᾱθρόνῠμφος (lāthrónŭmphos)
* μελλόνῠμφος (mellónŭmphos)
* μῑσόνῠμφος (mīsónŭmphos)
* νεόνῠμφος (neónŭmphos)
* νῠμφᾱγενής (nŭmphāgenḗs)
* νῠμφᾱγέτης (nŭmphāgétēs)
* νῠμφᾰγωγός (nŭmphăgōgós)
* νῠμφαῖος (nŭmphaîos)
* νῠμφεῖος (nŭmpheîos)
* νῠμφεύω (nŭmpheúō)
* νῠμφῐ́δες (nŭmphĭ́des)
* νῠμφῐ́δῐος (nŭmphĭ́dĭos)
* νῠμφῐκός (nŭmphĭkós)
* νῠμφῐ́ος (nŭmphĭ́os)
* νῠμφόβᾱς (nŭmphóbās)
* νῠμφογέννητος (nŭmphogénnētos)
* Νῠμφόδωρος (Nŭmphódōros)
* νῠμφόκλαυτος (nŭmphóklautos)
* νῠμφοκόμος (nŭmphokómos)
* νῠμφόληπτος (nŭmphólēptos)
* νῠμφοπόνος (nŭmphopónos)
* νῠμφοστόλος (nŭmphostólos)
* νῠμφοτερεῖς (nŭmphotereîs)
* νῠμφότῑμος (nŭmphótīmos)
* νῠμφοτομέω (nŭmphotoméō)
* νῠμφοτομῐ́ᾱ (nŭmphotomĭ́ā)
* νῠμφοτροφέω (nŭmphotrophéō)
* νῠμφοφόρος (nŭmphophóros)
* νῠμφώδης (nŭmphṓdēs)
* νῠμφών (nŭmphṓn)
* ὁμόνῠμφος (homónŭmphos)
* πᾰλεονῠμφᾱ́γονος (păleonŭmphā́gonos)
* πᾰρᾰ́νῠμφος (părắnŭmphos)
* πολῠ́νῠμφος (polŭ́nŭmphos)
* προνῠ́μφῐος (pronŭ́mphĭos)
* σῠννῠμφοκόμος (sŭnnŭmphokómos)
* σῠ́ννῠμφος (sŭ́nnŭmphos)
* ῠ̔πονῠμφῐ́ς (hŭponŭmphĭ́s)

#### Related terms

* νῠ́μφαιον (nŭ́mphaion)
* νῠμφᾰ́ς (nŭmphắs)
* νῠμφᾰ́σμᾰτᾰ (nŭmphắsmătă)
* νῠ́μφευμᾰ (nŭ́mpheumă)
* νῠ́μφευσῐς (nŭ́mpheusĭs)
* νῠμφευτήρ (nŭmpheutḗr)
* νῠμφευτήρῐος (nŭmpheutḗrĭos)
* νῠμφευτής (nŭmpheutḗs)
* νῠμφεύτρῐᾰ (nŭmpheútrĭă)
* νῠμφῐᾰ́ω (nŭmphĭắō)

#### Descendants

* Greek: νύμφη (nýmfi, “nymph; bride”), νύφη (nýfi, “bride; in-law”)
* Mariupol Greek: нимф (nimf, “fairy”), ныф (nyf, “bride; in-law”)
* → Latin: lympha, nympha (see there for further descendants)
* → Russian: ни́мфа (nímfa)
* → Translingual: (via the genitive) Nymphes

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “νύμφη”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1026

### Further reading

* “νύμφη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “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.
* “νύμφη”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

## 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

#### Synonyms

* (bride): νύφη f (nýfi)
* (chrysalis, pupa): χρυσαλλίδα f (chrysallída)

### Further reading

* νύμφη on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia $^{el}$