- στῆθος
- στῆθοςGrammatical information: n.Meaning: `male or female breast', also as seat of feelings etc. "heart" (Il.), metaph. `ball of the hand, foot' (medic.), `sandbank' (Plb. a.o.).Other forms: Often pl. -εα, -η.Compounds: Rare compp., e.g. στηθό-δεσμος, -ίς, -ία, -η `breast-band' (Poll., LXX, hell. pap. a.o.), μεγαλό-, μικρό-στηθος `with wide resp. narrow chest' (Mnesith. ap. Orib.; only sup.).Derivatives: 1. Dimin. στηθ-ίον (Alex., Arist. a.o.), -ίδιον (Phryn.), -ύνιον (middl. com., LXX; cf. χελύνιον `lip, jawbone etc.'). 2. -αῖον `breastwork' (sch.). 3. also -ίας ὄρνις ποιός H.? 4. -ικός (Arist.), -ιαῖος (inscr. IVp, sch.) `belonging to the breast'. 5. -ιστήρ m. `breast-plate of a horse's harness' (gloss.; cf. βραχιονιστήρ a.o.).Origin: XX [etym. unknown]Etymology: As στῆθος is also Dor. and Aeol. (στᾱ̃θος [Sicyon] with ᾱ from η; Thumb-Kieckers Hb. 1, 129), the connection with στῆ-ναι (Curtius 211; cf. Chantraine Form. 421, also Benveniste Origines 200) must be given up. Origin unclear. The similarity with στήνιον στῆθος H. (to Arm. stin, Skt. stána m. `female breast' a.o.) is hardly accidental. Suppositions on it in WP. 2, 663 and Pok. 990 (for *τῆθος from *θῆ-θος to θῆσθαι with στ- after στήνιον?); by Risch 73 (στήνιον : στῆθος approx. like Lat. plēnus : πλῆθος).Page in Frisk: 2,795
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.