Learn Greek › B1 › μένος
μένος
might, vital force, fury (the surge of strength or spirit that drives a warrior or hero to act) /ˈme.nos/
nounB1#1724 most common
Also: passion, wrath, vigor, energy, courage, spirit
Example sentences
Ἔχει μένος.
He has fury.
Τὸ μένος τοῦ ἀνδρός μέγα ἐστίν.
The man's might is great.
Ὁ ἥρως μένος πολὺ ἔχει ἐν τῇ μάχῃ.
The hero has great might in battle.
Τὸ μένος τῶν στρατιωτῶν οὐκ ἔσβη.
The soldiers' fury did not die down.
Ἀχιλλεὺς μένεϊ σφριγόωντι ἐπόρουσε τοῖς Τρωσίν.
Achilles rushed at the Trojans with surging fury.
Θεὸς ἐνέπνευσε μένος τῷ ἥρωϊ, ὥστε μηδένα φόβον ἔχειν.
A god breathed might into the hero, so that he felt no fear.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | μένος | μένη |
| Genitive | μένους | μενῶν |
| Accusative | μένος | μένη |
| Vocative | μένος | μένη |
Word family
μαίνομαιto rage, be furious
μανίαmadness, frenzyμιμνήσκωto remind, remember
δυσμενήςhostile, ill-disposed (literally 'of bad spirit')
Etymology
μένος goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root for mental power, the same root that gives Greek words for mind and memory. In Homeric Greek it names the surge of force or spirit that fills a warrior, an animal, or even a natural force like fire or wind. The word is mainly literary and Homeric; it did not survive into everyday Modern Greek.
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