Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Hymen
/ˈhaɪmən/noun
The thin membrane partly covering the opening of the vagina.
The Greek roots
ὑμήν
hymḗn
membrane, thin skin
Literally: “membrane”
Follow a root:ὑμήν1 word
The story of the word
ὑμήν is any thin membrane, and Galen used it across the body for the sheets that line and divide organs, with no special charge attached. The wedding god Hymen or Hymenaios comes from the refrain shouted at Greek marriage processions, and whether the two words share a root has been argued since antiquity without a verdict. The insect order Hymenoptera takes the same word for its membrane wings, which is why bees, wasps and ants belong to the membrane-winged.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
hymenopterahymeniumhymeneal
In a sentence
Anatomy textbooks now stress how much the hymen varies between individuals.
Forensic guidance warns against reading anything about consent from the state of the hymen.