English
ephebe
Ephebe comes from Latin ephēbus ‘a male Greek youth’, and goes back to Ancient Greek ἔφηβος ‘adolescent’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔφηβοςéphēbos‘adolescent’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEephēbus‘a male Greek youth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1922ephebe
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔφηβοςéphēbos‘adolescent’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEephēbus‘a male Greek youth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1922ephebe
Earliest quotation: 1922, James Joyce, [Episode 9: Scylla and Charybdis]: “His glance touched their faces lightly as he smiled,…”
A compound of ἐπί ‘early’ + ἥβη ‘manhood’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep- ‘to grab, snatch, get’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi ‘on’
Proto-Hellenic *epí
Ancient Greek ἐπί ‘early’
Proto-Indo-European *yēgʷeh₂ ‘power, (youthful) strength’
Ancient Greek ἥβη ‘manhood’
Every English word from Ancient Greek ἔφηβος
Today it means
noun An 18- to 20-year-old man in ancient Greece undergoing military training.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ἔφηβος / ephebe