μαῖα

maia

good mother

Appears 7 times across Aristotle's works.

Frequency by work

Click a work to list every occurrence by Bekker number — each links into the reader.

History of Animals 5
Open History of Animals ›
Book IV 2
Chapter 2 525a30–527a35

525b4

Chapter 3 527b1–34

527b13
Book VII 2
Chapter 10 587a9–587b18

587a9
587a22
Book VIII 1
Chapter 17 600a27–601a22

601a18
Parts of Animals 2
Open Parts of Animals ›
Book IV 2
Chapter 8 683b25–684b5

684a8
684a10

Dictionary (LSJ)

μαῖα, ἡ, A. good mother, form of address to old women, Hom. (only in Od.), always in voc., usu. addressed to Eurycleia, the nurse of Odysseus, Od. 19.482, al.; but also to Eurynome the ταμίη, 17.499: hence not only of nurses, cf. h.Cer. 147, Ar. Ec. 915 (lyr.). 2. later, foster-mother, E. Hipp. 243 (anap.), Antiph. 159.6; also, a true mother, μαῖα δὴ κάτω βέβακεν E. Alc. 393 (lyr.): metaph., of the earth, ἰὼ γαῖα μαῖα A. Ch. 44 (lyr.), cf. S. Fr. 959. 3. midwife, Pl. Tht. 149a, Isyll. 54, Sor. 2.3, al., etc. b. lady doctor, Gal. 14.641. 4. in Dor., grandmother, Iamb. VP 11.56, IG 12(3).1120 (Melos). II. large kind of crab, Arist. HA 525b4, al. III. a plant, = λεπίδιον, Orib. Fr. 102. (Prob. from same Root as μήτηρ.)

Key passages & sense analysis (Bonitz)

Index Aristotelicus. Hermann Bonitz's sense-by-sense analysis of μαῖα — with the passages he singles out as decisive for each meaning — will appear here. That curated, interpretive selection is the layer LSJ and a raw concordance don't provide. Digitisation in progress; this entry is not yet available.

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