φύς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Substantivization/nominalization of the participle φῡ́ς (phū́s).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pʰy̌ːs/ → /ɸys/ → /fis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pʰy̌ːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /pʰys/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɸys/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /fys/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /fis/

Participle

φῡ́ς • (phū́s) m (feminine φῦσᾰ, neuter φῠ́ν); first/third declension

1. second aorist active masculine participle of φῠ́ω (phúō): "(he) has sprung forth/been brought forth, (he) has been begotten, (he) has been born"

Declension

First and third declension of φῡ́ς; φῦσᾰ; φῠ́ν (Attic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		φῡ́ς phū́s	φῦσᾰ phûsa	φῠ́ν phún		φῠ́ντε phúnte	φῡ́σᾱ phū́sā	φῠ́ντε phúnte		φῠ́ντες phúntes	φῦσαι phûsai	φῠ́ντᾰ phúnta
Genitive		φῠ́ντος phúntos	φῡ́σης phū́sēs	φῠ́ντος phúntos		φῠ́ντοιν phúntoin	φῡ́σαιν phū́sain	φῠ́ντοιν phúntoin		φῠ́ντων phúntōn	φῡσῶν phūsôn	φῠ́ντων phúntōn
Dative		φῠ́ντῐ phúnti	φῡ́σῃ phū́sēi	φῠ́ντῐ phúnti		φῠ́ντοιν phúntoin	φῡ́σαιν phū́sain	φῠ́ντοιν phúntoin		φῦσῐ / φῦσῐν phûsi(n)	φῡ́σαις phū́sais	φῦσῐ / φῦσῐν phûsi(n)
Accusative		φῠ́ντᾰ phúnta	φῦσᾰν phûsan	φῠ́ν phún		φῠ́ντε phúnte	φῡ́σᾱ phū́sā	φῠ́ντε phúnte		φῠ́ντᾰς phúntas	φῡ́σᾱς phū́sās	φῠ́ντᾰ phúnta
Vocative		φῡ́ς phū́s	φῦσᾰ phûsa	φῠ́ν phún		φῠ́ντε phúnte	φῡ́σᾱ phū́sā	φῠ́ντε phúnte		φῠ́ντες phúntes	φῦσαι phûsai	φῠ́ντᾰ phúnta
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		φῠ́ντως phúntōs				—				—
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Noun

φῡ́ς • (phū́s) m (genitive φύντος); third declension

1. (literally) he who has sprung forth/been brought forth, he who has been begotten, he who has been born
2. (metonymically, generally with the definite article present): son, (male) child, (male) descendant

Usage notes

The apparent IE root of the Ancient Greek verb φῠ́ω (phúō), *bʰuh₂-, seems to have originally had the intransitive meanings "to appear/spring forth", "to grow/wax", "to become". Despite this, by the classical period φῠ́ω (phúō) assumed, in the present tense, both the transitive meanings "to bring forth" ("to produce", "to beget", "to engender"), and the intransitive meanings "to arise", "to emerge", "to spring up", "to grow". Often, Greek verbs with both transitive and intransitive meanings developed two aorist tenses: a first aorist (aorist 1) to assume the transitive meanings, and a second aorist (aorist 2) to assume the intransitive. Classical Greek second aorist tenses ending in -ην (e.g. βάινω/ἒβην), -ων (e.g. βιόω /ἐβίων), and -υν (e.g. δύομαι /ἒδυν) are generally intransitive. Accordingly, in the case of φῠ́ω (phúō), a second aorist tense (second aorist ἔφῡν) arose to assume those intransitive meanings in the historical context. While the basic meanings of ἔφῡσᾰ (éphūsa), the first aorist tense of φῠ́ω (phúō), are identical with the transitive meanings of the present tense ("to bring forth", "to produce", "to cause to arise/appear", "to beget"), the basic meanings of second aorist ἔφῡν (éphūn) are more in line with the intransitive meanings of φῠ́ω and of the presumed IE root, *bʰuh₂-. The instant participle, φῡ́ς, is the second aorist active masculine participle of the verb φῠ́ω, and so has essentially intransitive meanings in the active voice.

In the specific case of the substantivized aorist masculine participle, which clearly refers to a (male) person or persons, the essentially intransitive meaning of the second aorist took on meanings both markedly passive and more specific to the human condition ("to be begotten", "to be born"). Therefore, with respect to verb φῠ́ω (phúō), the second aorist masculine participle φῡ́ς (phū́s) can drastically differ in meaning from the first aorist masculine participle φῡ́σᾱς (phū́sās), and that, with respect to the basic meaning of verb φῠ́ω (phúō), the (first aorist) active participle φῡ́σᾱς (phū́sās) can substantively represent the agent noun "father", and φῡ́ς (phū́s), in like manner an active participle, can substantively represent the result noun "son".

Declension

Third declension of ὁ φῡ́ς; τοῦ φῠ́ντος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ φῡ́ς ho phū́s	τὼ φῠ́ντε tṑ phúnte	οἱ φῠ́ντες hoi phúntes
Genitive	τοῦ φῠ́ντος toû phúntos	τοῖν φῠ́ντοιν toîn phúntoin	τῶν φῠ́ντων tôn phúntōn
Dative	τῷ φῠ́ντῐ tôi phúnti	τοῖν φῠ́ντοιν toîn phúntoin	τοῖς φῦσῐ / φῦσῐν toîs phûsi(n)
Accusative	τὸν φῠ́ντᾰ tòn phúnta	τὼ φῠ́ντε tṑ phúnte	τοὺς φῠ́ντᾰς toùs phúntas
Vocative	φῠ́ν phún	φῠ́ντε phúnte	φῠ́ντες phúntes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

• φῡ́σᾱς (phū́sās, “father/forefather/ancestor”)
• φῡ́σαντες (phū́santes, “fathers/forefathers/parents”)

References

• “φύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers