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Hieroglyphics

History

Hymen

/hahy-muhn

Eponym: Hymen (Hymenaios)

hymenaios_edited.jpg
Hymenaois
Latin term: hymen (anatomical structure)
5th century BCE
Present
Ancient Greece
1st to 2nd century CE

Eponym:

The term hymen stems from the Latin hymen, which was borrowed from the Greek word “hymḗn” or “ὑμήν,” meaning membrane (of any kind). [1] The latin term “hymen” was used from the 1st and 2nd centuries CE to refer to the anatomical feature, specifically. [1] The Greek word, however, was derived from the Greek god of marriage, Hymenaeus. [1] As such, the name of this anatomical feature indirectly stems from Hymenaeus, making this an eponym that originates from mythology, or a mythonym. 

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hymenaios.jpg

Hymenaeus depicted on a Roman mosaic in Latium, Italy.  Image obtained from Marie-Lan Ngugen (User Jastrow on Wikipedia).

References

1.    Parra, J., Vásquez, B., Garcia, L, & del Sol, M. (2022). Hymen: A Long-standing Eponym and Myth in Terminologia
                          Anatomica. International Journal of Morphology, 40(5), 1415-1419 

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