English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) hile, hyla; ylem

Noun

hyle ‎(uncountable)

1. (obsolete, philosophy) matter
2. The first matter of the cosmos, from which the four elements arose, according to the doctrines of Empedocles and Aristotle.

References

• OED: The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, Oxford University Press, 1989

Danish

Pronunciation

Verb

hyle ‎(imperative hyl, infinitive at hyle, present tense hyler, past tense hylede, perfect tense har hylet)

1. yell
2. howl
3. wail
4. yowl
5. whine
6. hoot

Related terms

Latin

Etymology

Transliteration of Aristotle’s concept of matter, in Ancient Greek ὕλη ‎(húlē, “wood(s), material(s), matter, subject”) or πρώτη ὕλη (“fundamental, undifferentiated matter”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈhʏː.leː/

Noun

hȳlē f ‎(genitive hȳlēs); first declension

1. matter, the fundamental matter of all things, as opposing the form of all things (Aristotle’s doctrine of matter and form or hylomorphism); in Mediaeval Latin respectively materia prima and forma substantialis
2. the matter of the body, as opposing the soul or mind (Aristotle’s doctrine of the soul)
3. the first matter of the cosmos, an inaccurate interpretation of Aristotle's ἡ πρώτη ὕλη or materia prima

Inflection

First declension, Greek type.

References

• hyle in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• HYLE in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “hyle”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• hyle in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• hyle in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• hyle in William Smith., editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
• L&S: Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1969
• See further references under ὕλη ‎(húlē).