ἐμύς

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀμύς (amús), ἑμύς (hemús)

Etymology

Unknown. Sommer derives it from ἐμέω (eméō, “to vomit”), because the animal, when breathing out below the surface of water, continuously releases air bubbles. However, Beekes states that -ud- is not an Indo-European suffix, concluding that the word is probably Pre-Greek. The variation ἀ-/ἐ- is also proof of substrate origin.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /e.mýs/ → /eˈmys/ → /eˈmis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /e.mýs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /eˈmys/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /eˈmys/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈmys/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈmis/

Noun

ἐμῠ́ς • (emŭ́s) f (genitive ἐμῠ́δος); third declension

1. freshwater tortoise (Emys orbicularis)
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 5.33
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 8.2

Usage notes

This word is primarily feminine but sometimes masculine, as in:

• 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 8.17

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ / ἡ ἐμῠ́ς; τοῦ / τῆς ἐμῠ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ / ἡ ἐμῠ́ς ho / hē emŭ́s	τὼ ἐμῠ́δε tṑ emŭ́de	οἱ / αἱ ἐμῠ́δες hoi / hai emŭ́des
Genitive	τοῦ / τῆς ἐμῠ́δος toû / tês emŭ́dos	τοῖν ἐμῠ́δοιν toîn emŭ́doin	τῶν ἐμῠ́δων tôn emŭ́dōn
Dative	τῷ / τῇ ἐμῠ́δῐ tōî / tēî emŭ́dĭ	τοῖν ἐμῠ́δοιν toîn emŭ́doin	τοῖς / ταῖς ἐμῠ́σῐ / ἐμῠ́σῐν toîs / taîs emŭ́sĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν / τὴν ἐμῠ́δᾰ tòn / tḕn emŭ́dă	τὼ ἐμῠ́δε tṑ emŭ́de	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς ἐμῠ́δᾰς toùs / tā̀s emŭ́dăs
Vocative	ἐμῠ́ς emŭ́s	ἐμῠ́δε emŭ́de	ἐμῠ́δες emŭ́des
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-δς (*-ds).

Descendants

• → Latin: emys
  • → English: emys
  • → Translingual: Emys

Further reading

• “ἐμύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ἐμύς in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἐμύς in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἐμύς”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 419