φρήν

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

φρᾱ́ν (phrā́n) — Doric

Etymology

Perhaps from either Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰren- (“soul, mind; innards, diaphragm”), whence Old Norse grunr (“suspicion”), or *bʰren- (“front edge”), whence e.g. Latin frōns (“forehead, front; character”), Old East Norse brant (“precipice”).^[1] See also Latin rēn (“kidney”), Proto-Slavic *grěnь (“pus”), of disputed connection.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pʰrɛ̌ːn/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpʰre̝n/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɸrin/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈfrin/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈfrin/

Noun

φρήν • (phrḗn) f (genitive φρενός); third declension

(often in the plural) the midriff, stomach and lower chest or breast
heart (the seat of emotion)
Synonyms: θῡμός (thūmós), πραπίς (prapís)
desire (seat of bodily appetites such as hunger)
wits, mind (the seat of intellect)
will; purpose

Declension

Third declension of ἡ φρήν; τῆς φρενός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ φρήν hē phrḗn	τὼ φρένε tṑ phréne	αἱ φρένες hai phrénes
Genitive	τῆς φρενός tês phrenós	τοῖν φρενοῖν toîn phrenoîn	τῶν φρενῶν tôn phrenôn
Dative	τῇ φρενῐ́ tēî phrenĭ́	τοῖν φρενοῖν toîn phrenoîn	ταῖς φρεσῐ́ / φρεσῐ́ν taîs phresĭ́(n)
Accusative	τὴν φρένᾰ tḕn phrénă	τὼ φρένε tṑ phréne	τᾱ̀ς φρένᾰς tā̀s phrénăs
Vocative	φρήν phrḗn	φρένε phréne	φρένες phrénes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of φρήν; φρενός (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	φρήν phrḗn	φρένε phréne	φρένες phrénes
Genitive	φρενός phrenós	φρενοῖῐ̈ν phrenoîĭ̈n	φρενῶν phrenôn
Dative	φρενῐ́ phrenĭ́	φρενοῖῐ̈ν phrenoîĭ̈n	φρεσῐ́ / φρεσῐ́ν / φρένεσῐ / φρένεσῐν / φρένεσσῐ / φρένεσσῐν phresĭ́(n) / phrénesĭ(n) / phrénessĭ(n)
Accusative	φρένᾰ phrénă	φρένε phréne	φρένᾰς phrénăs
Vocative	φρήν phrḗn	φρένε phréne	φρένες phrénes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Third declension of ἡ φρήν; τῆς φρενός (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ φρήν hē phrḗn	τὼ φρένε tṑ phréne	αἱ φρένες hai phrénes
Genitive	τῆς φρενός tês phrenós	τοῖν φρενοῖν toîn phrenoîn	τῶν φρενῶν tôn phrenôn
Dative	τῇ φρενῐ́ tēî phrenĭ́	τοῖν φρενοῖν toîn phrenoîn	τῇσῐ / τῇσῐν φρεσῐ́ / φρεσῐ́ν tēîsĭ(n) phresĭ́(n)
Accusative	τὴν φρένᾰ tḕn phrénă	τὼ φρένε tṑ phréne	τᾱ̀ς φρένᾰς tā̀s phrénăs
Vocative	φρήν phrḗn	φρένε phréne	φρένες phrénes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

ἔμφρων (émphrōn)
εὐφρόνη (euphrónē, “night”) (apparently)
εὔφρων (eúphrōn)
μετᾰ́φρενον (metắphrenon)
φρένῐον (phrénĭon)
φρενῖτῐς (phrenîtĭs)
φρενόθεν (phrenóthen)
φρενόω (phrenóō)
φρόνῐμος (phrónĭmos)
-φρων (-phrōn)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “φρήν, -ενός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1590-1

“φρήν”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“φρήν”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“φρήν”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
φρήν 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
φρήν in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
“φρήν”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G5424 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- bosom idem, page 90.
- brain idem, page 93.
- breast idem, page 96.
- comprehension idem, page 153.
- fancy idem, page 306.
- head idem, page 389.
- heart idem, page 392.
- imagination idem, page 416.
- mind idem, page 530.
- sanity idem, page 733.
- sense idem, page 752.
- soul idem, page 796.
- thought idem, page 868.
- understanding idem, page 913.
- wit idem, page 983.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “φρήν, -ενός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1590-1

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