Etymograph

English

hymen

Hymen comes from Ancient Greek ὑμήν ‘skin’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *syewH- ‘to sew’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*syewH-‘to sew’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὑμήνhumḗn‘skin’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhymēn
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600hymen
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1788same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*syewH-‘to sew’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὑμήνhumḗn‘skin’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhymēn
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600hymen
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1788same form

Earliest quotation: 1788, [Cassandra, Adelaide de Tourville to Henrietta de Valiere: “I would for ever baniſh from my thoughts—I will…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *syewH- ‘to sew’

sew, seam, suture, sutra, souter, sutta, 7 more

Today it means

noun A membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening in human females.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *syewH- / hymen

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