σκύλος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover”). Cognates include Sanskrit स्कुनाति (skunā́ti, “to cover”) and Old English scēo (“sky”) and scuwa (“shade, darkness, protection”). Related to σκῦτος (skûtos, “hide, leather”) and ἐπισκύνιον (episkúnion, “skin over the brows”).

Alternatively, Beekes suggests derivation from σκύλλω (skúllō, “I lacerate, skin”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ský.los/ → /ˈscy.los/ → /ˈsci.los/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ský.los/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsky.los/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈscy.los/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈscy.los/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsci.los/

Noun

σκῠ́λος • (skúlos) n (genitive σκῠ́λεος or σκῠ́λους); third declension

1. skin, hide

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ σκῠ́λος; τοῦ σκῠ́λεος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ σκῠ́λος tò skúlos	τὼ σκῠ́λεε tṑ skúlee	τᾰ̀ σκῠ́λεᾰ tà skúlea
Genitive	τοῦ σκῠ́λεος toû skúleos	τοῖν σκῠλέοιν toîn skuléoin	τῶν σκῠλέων tôn skuléōn
Dative	τῷ σκῠ́λεῐ̈ tôi skúleï	τοῖν σκῠλέοιν toîn skuléoin	τοῖς σκῠ́λεσῐ / σκῠ́λεσῐν toîs skúlesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ σκῠ́λος tò skúlos	τὼ σκῠ́λεε tṑ skúlee	τᾰ̀ σκῠ́λεᾰ tà skúlea
Vocative	σκῠ́λος skúlos	σκῠ́λεε skúlee	σκῠ́λεᾰ skúlea
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

• σκυλακεία (skulakeía)
• σκυλάκευμα (skulákeuma)
• σκυλακευτής (skulakeutḗs)
• σκυλακεύω (skulakeúō)
• σκυλάκιον (skulákion)
• σκύλαξ (skúlax)
• σκύλευμα (skúleuma)
• σκύλευσις (skúleusis)
• σκυλευτής (skuleutḗs)
• σκυλευτικός (skuleutikós)
• σκυλεύω (skuleúō)
• σκύλλα (skúlla)
• σκύλλω (skúllō)
• σκῦλον / σκύλον (skûlon / skúlon)

 

References

• “σκύλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σκύλος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1361
• “σκύλος”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, 2011

Greek

Etymology

From Byzantine Greek and Koine Greek σκύλος (skúlos), from a root σκυλ- (skul-) also found in Ancient Greek σκύλαξ (skúlax, “puppy, whelp”) + -ος (-os).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsci.los/
• Hyphenation: σκύ‧λος

Noun

σκύλος • (skýlos) m (plural σκύλοι, feminine σκύλα, neuter σκυλί)

1. dog (Canis lupus familiaris) (general term for both sexes or more specifically, a male)

   Θα γυρίσω σε λίγο, πρέπει να πάω βόλτα τον σκύλο μου.

   Tha gyríso se lígo, prépei na páo vólta ton skýlo mou.

   I'll be back in a while, I have to go walk my dog.

2. (derogatory, figuratively) beast, brute (violent person with wild behaviour)

   Μην αφήσεις αυτόν τον σκύλο κοντά στα παιδιά σου!

   Min afíseis aftón ton skýlo kontá sta paidiá sou!

   Don't let that beast get close to your kids!

3. (figuratively) hard worker (someone who works tirelessly and with great success)

   Αυτός είναι σκύλος στη δουλειά του.

   Aftós eínai skýlos sti douleiá tou.

   He is a tirelessly hard worker.

4. dogfish (any of various small sharks)

   Έπιασα έναν σκύλο στο δίχτυ μου.

   Épiasa énan skýlo sto díchty mou.

   I caught a dogfish in my net.

Declension

Declension of σκύλος

	singular	plural
nominative	σκύλος •	σκύλοι •
genitive	σκύλου •	σκύλων •
accusative	σκύλο •	σκύλους •
vocative	σκύλε •	σκύλοι •

Synonyms

• σκυλί (skylí)

Synonyms

• (dog): κύων m or f (kýon) (Katharevousa)
• (dogfish): σκυλόψαρο n (skylópsaro)

Derived terms

• σαν τον σκύλο με τη γάτα (san ton skýlo me ti gáta, “at loggerheads, like cats and dogs”)
• σκύλος που γαβγίζει δεν δαγκώνει (skýlos pou gavgízei den dagkónei, “barking dogs seldom bite”)
• και την πίτα ολόκληρη και τον σκύλο χορτάτο (kai tin píta olókliri kai ton skýlo chortáto, “have one's cake and eat it too”) (literally: "both the whole pie and the dog fed")
• εγώ το λέω τού σκύλου μου και ο σκύλος στην ουρά του (egó to léo toú skýlou mou kai o skýlos stin ourá tou, “about things that never get accomplished”) (literally: "I tell my dog and my dog tells its tail")
• το φτηνό το κρέας το τρών' οι σκύλοι (to ftinó to kréas to trón' oi skýloi, “you get what you pay for”) (literally: "cheap meat gets eaten by the dogs")

Further reading

• σκύλος on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el