Penelope 的詞源

芬妮女性名，是“奧德賽”中忠誠妻子的名字，源自希臘語 Pēnelopē， Pēnelopeia，可能與 pēne “卷軸上的線”有關，源自 pēnos “網”，與拉丁語 pannus “布料”同源（見 pane（n.））。但 Beekes 認爲它與 pēnelops “有彩色頸部的鴨或野鵝”有關。在英語中，它被用作賢妻的代表（1580年），就像在拉丁語中一樣。

Penelope, the daughter of Icarus, was a rare and perfect example of chastity. For though it was generally thought that her husband Ulysses was dead, since he had been absent from her twenty years; yet, neither the desires of her parents, nor the solicitations of her lovers, could prevail on her to marry another man, and to violate the promises of constancy which she gave to her husband when he departed. And when many noblemen courted her, and even threatened her with ruin, unless she declared which of them should marry her, she desired that the choice might be deferred till she had finished the piece of needle-work about which she was then employed: but undoing by night what she had worked by day, she delayed them till Ulysses returned and killed them all. Hence came the proverb, "To weave Penelope's web;" that is, to labour in vain; when one hand destroys what the other has wrought. [Andrew Tooke, "The Pantheon, Representing the Fabulous Histories of the Heathen Gods and Most Illustrious Heroes, in a Plain and Familiar Method," London: 1824]

伊卡洛斯的女兒佩內洛普是貞潔的罕見完美榜樣。雖然人們普遍認爲她的丈夫尤利西斯已經死了，因爲他離開她已經二十年了，但是，她的父母的要求和情人的請求都不能讓她嫁給另一個男人，違揹她離開時對丈夫的忠誠承諾。當許多貴族追求她，甚至威脅她，除非她宣佈哪一個人會娶她，她要求將選擇推遲，直到她完成當時正在從事的針線活。但是，她在晚上解開了白天所做的工作，拖延了他們，直到尤利西斯回來並殺死了他們所有人。因此，有諺語“編織佩內洛普的網”； 也就是說，徒勞無功； 當一隻手破壞了另一隻手所做的工作時。