ὀκτώπους

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ὀκτώ (eight) and πούς (leg).

Pronunciation

• (5th BC Attic): IPA: /oktɔ͜ɔ́po͜os/

• (1st BC Egyptian): IPA: /októːpuːs/

• (4th AD Koine): IPA: /októpus/

• (10th AD Byzantine): IPA: /oxtópus/

• (15th AD Constantinopolitan): IPA: /oxtópus/

Adjective

ὀκτώπους m, ὀκτώπους f, ὀκτώπουν n; third declension; (oktōpous)

1. eight-footed

Noun

ὀκτώπους (genitive ὀκτώποδος) m, third declension; (oktōpous)

1. octopus

Inflection

Third declension of ὀκτώπους, ὀκτώποδος

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὀκτώπους	τὼ ὀκτώποδε	οἱ ὀκτώποδες
Genitive	τοῦ ὀκτώποδος	τοῖν ὀκτωπόδοιν	τῶν ὀκτωπόδων
Dative	τῷ ὀκτώποδῐ	τοῖν ὀκτωπόδοιν	τοῖς ὀκτώποσῐ(ν)
Accusative	τὸν ὀκτώποδᾰ	τὼ ὀκτώποδε	τοὺς ὀκτώποδᾰς
Vocative	ὀκτώπους	ὀκτώποδε	ὀκτώποδες

Descendants

Many words for "octopus" in other languages are instead either calques of "eight-foot" or from Latin polypus or from Germanic Kraken. Some languages have more than one word for octopus from these sources, or from other sources altogether. Some of the languages that do have a word for "octopus" ultimately from this Ancient Greek source may also have a more primary term from another source.

• Arabic: أخطبوط (ʼuḫṭubūṭ)
• Bulgarian: октоподи (oktopodi)
• Czech: oktopoda
• Dutch: octopus
• English: octopus
• Greek: χταπόδι (chtapodi)
  • plural: χταπόδια (chtapodia)
• Kurdish: ahtepot
• Latin: octopus (plural octopodes)
• Persian: اختاپوس
• Serbo-Croatian: октопод (oktopod)
• Spanish: octopoda
• Turkish: ahtapot

References

• ὀκτώπους in A Greek-English Lexicon by Liddell & Scott, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1940