ὀκτώπους

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Bahuvrīhi compound of ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”) +‎ πούς (poús, “foot”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ok.tɔ̌ː.puːs/ → /okˈto.pus/ → /okˈto.pus/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ok.tɔ̌ː.puːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /okˈto.pus/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /okˈto.pus/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /okˈto.pus/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /okˈto.pus/

Adjective

ὀκτώπους • (oktṓpous) m or f (neuter ὀκτώπουν); third declension

1. eight-footed

Inflection

Third declension of ὀκτώπους; ὀκτώπουν (Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		ὀκτώπους oktṓpous	ὀκτώπουν oktṓpoun		ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode	ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode		ὀκτώποδες oktṓpodes	ὀκτώποδᾰ oktṓpoda
Genitive		ὀκτώποδος oktṓpodos	ὀκτώποδος oktṓpodos		ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin	ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin		ὀκτωπόδων oktōpódōn	ὀκτωπόδων oktōpódōn
Dative		ὀκτώποδῐ oktṓpodi	ὀκτώποδῐ oktṓpodi		ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin	ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin		ὀκτώποσῐ / ὀκτώποσῐν oktṓposi(n)	ὀκτώποσῐ / ὀκτώποσῐν oktṓposi(n)
Accusative		ὀκτώποδᾰ oktṓpoda	ὀκτώπουν oktṓpoun		ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode	ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode		ὀκτώποδᾰς oktṓpodas	ὀκτώποδᾰ oktṓpoda
Vocative		ὀκτώπους oktṓpous	ὀκτώπουν oktṓpoun		ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode	ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode		ὀκτώποδες oktṓpodes	ὀκτώποδᾰ oktṓpoda
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		ὀκτωπόδως oktōpódōs			—			—
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Noun

ὀκτώπους • (oktṓpous) m (genitive ὀκτώποδος); third declension

1. octopus

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ ὀκτώπους; τοῦ ὀκτώποδος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὀκτώπους ho oktṓpous	τὼ ὀκτώποδε tṑ oktṓpode	οἱ ὀκτώποδες hoi oktṓpodes
Genitive	τοῦ ὀκτώποδος toû oktṓpodos	τοῖν ὀκτωπόδοιν toîn oktōpódoin	τῶν ὀκτωπόδων tôn oktōpódōn
Dative	τῷ ὀκτώποδῐ tôi oktṓpodi	τοῖν ὀκτωπόδοιν toîn oktōpódoin	τοῖς ὀκτώποσῐ / ὀκτώποσῐν toîs oktṓposi(n)
Accusative	τὸν ὀκτώποδᾰ tòn oktṓpoda	τὼ ὀκτώποδε tṑ oktṓpode	τοὺς ὀκτώποδᾰς toùs oktṓpodas
Vocative	ὀκτώπους oktṓpous	ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode	ὀκτώποδες oktṓpodes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ds.

Descendants

Many words for "octopus" in other languages are calques of "eight-foot" or from Latin polypus. 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: أُخْطُبُوط (ʔuḵṭubūṭ)
• Bulgarian: октопод (oktopod)
• Czech: oktopoda
• Dutch: octopus
• English: octopus
  • → Irish: ochtapas
• Byzantine Greek: ὀκταπόδιν (oktapódin)
  • Modern Greek: χταπόδι (chtapódi)
  • → Turkish: ahtapot
    • → Northern Kurdish: ahtepot
    • → Zazaki: axtapot
• Latin: octopus (plural octopodes)
• Persian: اختاپوس (oxtâpus)
• Serbo-Croatian: октопод (oktopod)
• Spanish: octopoda

References

• “ὀκτώπους”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὀκτώπους”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ὀκτώπους in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ὀκτώπους in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften