phrḗn

phrḗn agr. φρήν „Verstand, Wille“

ursprünglich Zwerchfell oder den Bereich des Brustkorbs. Die antiken Philosophen verorteten dort den Sitz der Gefühle, des Verstandes und des Denkens.

• Perhaps from
  • either Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰren- (“soul, mind; innards, diaphragm”),
    • whence Old Norse grunr (“suspicion”),
  • or *bʰren- (“front edge”),
    • whence e.g.
      • Latin frōns (“forehead, front; character”),
      • Old East Norse brant (“precipice”).
• See also
  • Latin rēn (“kidney”),
  • Proto-Slavic *grěnь (“pus”),
  • of disputed connection.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʰrɛ̌ːn/ → /ˈɸrin/ → /ˈfrin/

Noun

φρήν • (phrḗn) f (genitive φρενός); third declension

1. (often in the plural) the midriff, stomach and lower chest or breast
2. heart (the seat of emotion)

   Synonyms: θῡμός (thūmós), πραπίς (prapís)

3. desire (seat of bodily appetites such as hunger)
4. wits, mind (the seat of intellect)
5. will; purpose