σκότος

See also: Σκότος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *skh₃tos, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“shadow, darkness”). Cognates include Old Irish scáth, Sanskrit छत्त्र (chattra, “umbrella”), and Old English sceadu (English shadow).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /skó.tos/ → /ˈsko.tos/ → /ˈsko.tos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /skó.tos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsko.tos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsko.tos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsko.tos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsko.tos/

Noun

σκότος • (skótos) m (genitive σκότου); second declension
σκότος • (skótos) n (genitive σκότους); third declension

1. darkness, gloom
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 19.389
   • 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers 817
   • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Ajax 395
   • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Definitions 411B
   1. the darkness of death
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 4.461
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.11
   2. the darkness of the netherworld
      • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Fragments 95
   3. the darkness of the womb
      • 467 BCE, Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes 664
2. blindness
   • 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 1313
3. (figuratively) obscurity
   • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Electra 1396
   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Fragments 171.5
4. (of a person) the mystery, ignorance, deceit
   • 600 BCE – 500 BCE, Hipponax, Fragments 112
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes 411.25
   • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 864
     (C)
5. the dark part or shadow in a picture
   • Eustathius 953.51

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ σκότος; τοῦ σκότου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ σκότος ho skótos	τὼ σκότω tṑ skótō	οἱ σκότοι hoi skótoi
Genitive	τοῦ σκότου toû skótou	τοῖν σκότοιν toîn skótoin	τῶν σκότων tôn skótōn
Dative	τῷ σκότῳ tôi skótōi	τοῖν σκότοιν toîn skótoin	τοῖς σκότοις toîs skótois
Accusative	τὸν σκότον tòn skóton	τὼ σκότω tṑ skótō	τοὺς σκότους toùs skótous
Vocative	σκότε skóte	σκότω skótō	σκότοι skótoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of τὸ σκότος; τοῦ σκότους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ σκότος tò skótos	τὼ σκότει tṑ skótei	τᾰ̀ σκότη tà skótē
Genitive	τοῦ σκότους toû skótous	τοῖν σκοτοῖν toîn skotoîn	τῶν σκοτῶν tôn skotôn
Dative	τῷ σκότει tôi skótei	τοῖν σκοτοῖν toîn skotoîn	τοῖς σκότεσῐ / σκότεσῐν toîs skótesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ σκότος tò skótos	τὼ σκότει tṑ skótei	τᾰ̀ σκότη tà skótē
Vocative	σκότος skótos	σκότει skótei	σκότη skótē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “darkness”): φᾰ́ος (pháos), ἡμέρᾱ (hēmérā)

Derived terms

• σκοτεινός (skoteinós)
• σκοτάζω (skotázō)

Descendants

• English: scoto-, skoto-

Further reading

• “σκότος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σκότος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• σκότος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G4655 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • blackness idem, page 81.
  • blindness idem, page 83.
  • dark idem, page 195.
  • darkness idem, page 195.
  • dimness idem, page 225.
  • dinginess idem, page 225.
  • eclipse idem, page 260.
  • gloom idem, page 362.
  • mist idem, page 535.
  • murkiness idem, page 547.
  • night idem, page 558.
  • obscurity idem, page 566.
  • shade idem, page 760.
  • sombreness idem, page 793.