ψυχή

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Apparently a verbal noun from ψύχω (psúkhō, “I blow”), but never has the meaning "breath", even as early as Homer.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio (Classical Attic):

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Noun

ψυχή • (psukhḗ) f (genitive ψυχῆς); first declension

1. life (the state of being alive)
   • Revelation 8:9 (text according to Stephanus (1550) and Scrivener (1894))

     καὶ ἀπέθανεν τὸ τρίτον τῶν κτισμάτων τῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ τὰ ἔχοντα ψυχὰς καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων διεφθαρη.

     Young’s Literal Translation (1862):

     and die did the third of the creatures that [are] in the sea, those having life, and the third of the ships were destroyed.

2. (poetic) life-breath, life-blood (‘the state of being alive’ made corporeal)
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 14.516–519:

     Ἀτρεΐδης δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔπειθ᾽ Ὑπερήνορα ποιμένα λαῶν / οὖτα κατὰ λαπάρην, διὰ δ᾽ ἔντερα χαλκὸς ἄφυσσε
     δῃώσας: ψυχὴ δὲ κατ᾽ οὐταμένην ὠτειλὴν / ἔσσυτ᾽ ἐπειγομένη, τὸν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψε.

     Atreḯdēs d᾽ ár᾽ épeith᾽ Huperḗnora poiména laôn / oûta katà lapárēn, dià d᾽ éntera khalkòs áphusse
     dēiṓsas: psukhḕ dè kat᾽ outaménēn ōteilḕn / éssut᾽ epeigoménē, tòn dè skótos ósse kálupse.

     • 1990 translation by Robert Fagles

       Menelaus took the hardened captain Hyperenor, / gouged his flank and the bronze ripped him open,
       spurting his entrails out — and his life[-blood], gushing forth / through the raw, yawning wound, went pulsing fast
       and the dark came siwrling down across his eyes.

   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 16.505:

     τοῖο δ᾽ ἅμα ψυχήν τε καὶ ἔγχεος ἐξέρυσ᾽ αἰχμήν.

     toîo d᾽ háma psukhḗn te kaì énkheos exérus᾽ aikhmḗn.

     • 1990 translation by Robert Fagles

       so he dragged out both the man's life breath and the weapon's point together.

3. soul (the immortal part of a person)
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.1–5:

     μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος / οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί᾽ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε᾽ ἔθηκε,
     πολλὰς δ᾽ ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄϊδι προΐαψεν / ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν
     οἰωνοῖσί τε πᾶσι, Διὸς δ᾽ ἐτελείετο βουλή.

     mênin áeide theà Pēlēïádeō Akhilêos / ouloménēn, hḕ murí᾽ Akhaioîs álge᾽ éthēke,
     pollàs d᾽ iphthímous psukhàs Áïdi proḯapsen / hērṓōn, autoùs dè helṓria teûkhe kúnessin
     oiōnoîsí te pâsi, Diòs d᾽ eteleíeto boulḗ.

     • 1990 translation by Robert Fagles

       Rage — Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, / [...] doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
       hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy [...] / great fighters’ souls, but made their bodies carrion,
       feasts for the dogs and birds, / and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.

4. ghost (the spirit of a dead person)
   • Homer, Ὀδύσσεια (Odyssey), book 23, lines 362–363, and book 24, lines 1–2:

     αὐτίκα γὰρ φάτις εἶσιν ἅμ᾽ ἠελίῳ ἀνιόντι / ἀνδρῶν μνηστήρων, οὓς ἔκτανον ἐν μεγάροισιν:

     ¶

     Ἑρμῆς δὲ ψυχὰς Κυλλήνιος ἐξεκαλεῖτο / ἀνδρῶν μνηστήρων: [...]

     Robert Fagles’ translation (1996):

     [Go] quick as the rising sun the news will spread / of the suitors that I killed inside the house.

     ¶

     Now Cyllenian Hermes called away the suitors' ghosts, [...]

5. the mind (seat or organ of thought), (the faculty of) reason
   • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Economics 6.16:

     ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἄρα εἶχεν οὕτως, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνίους ἐδόκουν καταμανθάνειν τῶν καλῶν τὰς μορφὰς πάνυ μοχθηροὺς ὄντας τὰς ψυχάς.

     all᾽ ouk ára eîkhen hoútōs, all᾽ eníous edókoun katamanthánein tôn kalôn tàs morphàs pánu mokhthēroùs óntas tàs psukhás.

     • 1979 translation by E. C. Marchant, O. J. Todd and William Heinemann

       But after all, it was not so: I thought I discovered that some who were beautiful to look at were thoroughly depraved in their minds.

6. spirit (animated attitude)
   • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, On Horsemanship 11.1:

     ἢν δέ τις ἄρα βουληθῇ καὶ πομπικῷ καὶ μετεώρῳ καὶ λαμπρῷ ἵππῳ χρήσασθαι, οὐ μάλα μὲν τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐκ παντὸς ἵππου γίγνεται, ἀλλὰ δεῖ ὑπάρξαι αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν μεγαλόφρονα καὶ τὸ σῶμα εὔρωστον.

     ḕn dé tis ára boulēthêi kaì pompikôi kaì meteṓrōi kaì lamprôi híppōi khrḗsasthai, ou mála mèn tà toiaûta ek pantòs híppou gígnetai, allà deî hupárxai autôi kaì tḕn psukhḕn megalóphrona kaì tò sôma eúrōston.

     • c. 1898 translation by Henry Graham Dakyns

       If, however, the wish is to secure a horse adapted to parade and state processions, a high stepper and a showy animal, these are qualities not to be found combined in every horse, but to begin with, the animal must have high spirit and a stalwart body.

   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Isthmian Ode 53–55:

     Θηβᾶν ἀπὸ Καδμεϊᾶν μορφὰν βραχύς, ψυχὰν δ᾽ ἄκαμπτος, προσπαλαίσων ἦλθ᾽ ἀνὴρ / τὰν πυροφόρον Λιβύαν, κρανίοις ὄφρα ξένων ναὸν Ποσειδάωνος ἐρέφοντα σχέθοι, / υἱὸς Ἀλκμήνας

     Thēbân apò Kadmeïân morphàn brakhús, psukhàn d᾽ ákamptos, prospalaísōn êlth᾽ anḕr / tàn purophóron Libúan, kraníois óphra xénōn naòn Poseidáōnos eréphonta skhéthoi, / huiòs Alkmḗnas

     • 1990 translation by Diane Svarlien

       And yet once there went from Thebes, Cadmus’ city, a hero short in stature but unflinching in spirit. This hero went to the house of Antaeus in grain-bearing Libya, to keep him from roofing Poseidon's temple with the skulls of strangers, Alcmena's son.

7. (rare, extended from the meaning ‘soul’) butterfly
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 5.19:

     Γίνονται δ᾽ αἱ μὲν καλούμεναι ψυχαὶ ἐκ τῶν καμπῶν, αἳ γίνονται ἐπὶ τῶν φύλλων τῶν χλωρῶν, καὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῆς ῥαφάνου, ἣν καλοῦσί τινες κράμβην.

     Gínontai d᾽ hai mèn kaloúmenai psukhaì ek tôn kampôn, haì gínontai epì tôn phúllōn tôn khlōrôn, kaì málista epì tês rhaphánou, hḕn kaloûsí tines krámbēn.

     Those arise — those which one calls butterflies (psukhai) — out of those caterpillars which arise on leaves of green, especially on the [leaves] of the cabbage-plant (raphanos), which some call cabbage (krambē).

Inflection

First declension of ἡ ψυχή; τῆς ψυχῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ψυχή hē psukhḗ	τὼ ψυχᾱ́ tṑ psukhā́	αἱ ψυχαί hai psukhaí
Genitive	τῆς ψυχῆς tês psukhês	τοῖν ψυχαῖν toîn psukhaîn	τῶν ψυχῶν tôn psukhôn
Dative	τῇ ψυχῇ têi psukhêi	τοῖν ψυχαῖν toîn psukhaîn	ταῖς ψυχαῖς taîs psukhaîs
Accusative	τὴν ψυχήν tḕn psukhḗn	τὼ ψυχᾱ́ tṑ psukhā́	τᾱ̀ς ψυχᾱ́ς tā̀s psukhā́s
Vocative	ψυχή psukhḗ	ψυχᾱ́ psukhā́	ψυχαί psukhaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Quotations

• Luke 21:19 (text according to Stephanus (1550), Westcott-Hort (1881) and Scrivener (1894))

  ἐν τῇ ὑπομονῇ ὑμῶν κτήσασθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν

  in your patience possess ye your souls. (YLT, KJV)

  Stand firm, and you will win life. (NIV)

• Pindar, Νεμεόνικοι, Χρομιῳ Αιτναιῳ Αρματι (Nemean Ode 9), lines 37-39:

  παῦροι δὲ βουλεῦσαι φόνου / παρποδίου νεφέλαν τρέψαι ποτὶ / δυσμενέων ἀνδρῶν στίχας / χερσὶ καὶ ψυχᾷ δυνατοί

  cited by Liddell and Scott as an example of "ψυχή" meaning "the conscious self or personality as centre of emotions, desires, and affections"

  Diane Svarlien’s translation (1990):

  But few are able to conspire with hand and heart to turn back against the ranks of the enemy the cloud of slaughter that presses close upon them.

  Dawson Turner’s prose translation (1852):

  But few are able to counsel how with hands and soul to turn the cloud of war that is upon them upon the ranks of the enemies.

  Abraham Moore’s metrical translation (1852):

  Few are the fiery souls that know, / When war's fierce tempest heaviest falls, / Back on th' assailant's arms and wavering ranks / With hand and heart to turn / The wasteful wreck.

Derived terms

• ψυχικός (psukhikós)

Descendants

• Greek: ψυχή (psychí)
• Latin: psychē
  • English: psyche

References

• “ψυχή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ψυχή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ψυχή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ψυχή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • animation idem, page 30.
  • being idem, page 72.
  • bosom idem, page 90.
  • breast idem, page 96.
  • consciousness idem, page 162.
  • heart idem, page 392.
  • life idem, page 489.
  • mind idem, page 530.
  • nerve idem, page 556.
  • reins idem, page 688.
  • soul idem, page 796.
  • spirit idem, page 802.
  • vital idem, page 955.
  • vitality idem, page 955.
• G5590 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• 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
• ψυχή in An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon by Liddell & Scott, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1899: "breath; the life, spirit"
• 2006, Steven Paul, The Apocalypse Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation, page 281 (discussing Revelation 8:9): "The literal meaning of the noun “ψυχή” [psykhë, or psyche] is “breath”; hence, like “πνεῦμα” [pneuma], it can also mean “spirit, soul, mind.”"
• 2007, Leon Marvell, Transfigured light: philosophy, cybernetics and the hermetic imaginary (ISBN 978-1-933146-27-0), page 128: "the psyche (the term derives from ψυχη, the breath, and ψυχειν, to breathe)"

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Greek

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ).

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): [psiˈçi]
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Hyphenation: ψυ‧χή

Noun

ψυχή • (psychí) f (plural ψυχές)

1. soul
2. human, man
3. the emotional and moral world
4. courage, courageousness
5. one who incites courage
6. butterfly

Declension

Declension of ψυχή

	singular	plural
nominative	ψυχή •	ψυχές •
genitive	ψυχής •	ψυχών •
accusative	ψυχή •	ψυχές •
vocative	ψυχή •	ψυχές •

Related terms

• εν βρασμώ ψυχής (en vrasmó psychís)
• μια ψυχή που είναι να βγει (mia psychí pou eínai na vgei)
• πήγε η ψυχή μου στην Κούλουρη (píge i psychí mou stin Koúlouri)
• ψυχάκι (psycháki)
• ψυχάρα (psychára)
• ψυχή τε και σώματι (psychí te kai sómati)
• ψυχικά (psychiká)
• ψυχικό (psychikó)
• ψυχικός (psychikós)
• ψυχισμός (psychismós)
• ψυχούλα (psychoúla)
• ψυχούδι (psychoúdi)
• ψυχωμένος (psychoménos)
• ψύχωση (psýchosi)
• ψυχωτικός (psychotikós)
• ξεψυχώ (xepsychó)