סריס

Hebrew

Root
ס־ר־ס (s-r-s)

Etymology

Borrowed from Akkadian ša rēši (literally “who is at the head”), cognate to זֶה + רֹאשׁ. The root ס־ר־ס (s-r-s) is denominative.

Pronunciation

• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /saˈʀis/
• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /saˈʁis/

Noun

סָרִיס • (sarís) m (plural indefinite סריסים)

1. A eunuch.

   Synonym: סְרִיס אָדָם (sarís ʾadám)

2. (Jewish law, potentially offensive) a male who is sexually underdeveloped or develops female secondary sex characteristics during puberty
   • Mishneh Torah, Marriage 2:13

     וְאֵלּוּ הֵן סִימָנֵי סָרִיס. כָּל שֶׁאֵין לוֹ זָקָן. וּשְׂעָרוֹ לָקוּי. וּבְשָׂרוֹ מַחֲלִיק. וְאֵין מֵימֵי רַגְלָיו מַעֲלִים רְתִיחָה. וּכְשֶׁמֵּטִיל מַיִם אֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה כִּפָּה. וְשִׁכְבַת זַרְעוֹ דִּיהָה. וְאֵין מֵימֵי רַגְלָיו מַחְמִיצִין. וְרוֹחֵץ בִּימוֹת הַגְּשָׁמִים וְאֵינוֹ מַעֲלֶה בְּשָׂרוֹ הֶבֶל. וְקוֹלוֹ לָקוּי וְאֵינוֹ נִכָּר בֵּין אִישׁ לְאִשָּׁה

     And these are the signs of a saris: He doesn't have a beard. His hair is weak. His flesh is smooth/hairless. His urine doesn't make foam. And when he urinates, it doesn't form an arch. And his semen is thin. And his urine doesn't ferment. And he washes in the rainy season without his flesh producing steam. And his voice is week and he can't be identified as male or female.

   Synonym: סְרִיס חַמָּה (sarís chammá)

Usage notes

• Potentially offensive when used in regards to intersex persons in day-to-day contexts.

Coordinate terms

• זָכָר (zakhár)
• נְקֵבָה (neqevá)
• אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס (andróginos)
• טוּמְטוּם (tumtúm)
• אַיְלוֹנִית (aylonít)

Further reading

• H5631 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) “סָרִיס”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 459a
• A. Murtonen (1989) “SRS”, in Hebrew in Its West Semitic Setting, Part I, Section Bb, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 307
• “סריס” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language