ὀκτάπους

See also: οκτάπους

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous)

Etymology

From ὀκτᾰ- (okta-, “eight”) +‎ πούς (poús, “foot”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ok.tá.puːs/ → /okˈta.pus/ → /okˈta.pus/

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

Adjective

ὀκτᾰ́πους • (oktápous) m or f (neuter ὀκτᾰ́πουν); third declension

1. eight-footed
   • Batrachomyomachia 298:

     ὀκτάποδες, δικάρηνοι, ἀχειρέες, οἱ δὲ καλεῦνται καρκίνοι

     oktápodes, dikárēnoi, akheirées, hoi dè kaleûntai karkínoi

     They had eight legs, two heads, and had no hands, and are called crabs.

   • Palatine Anthology 6.196

Inflection

Third declension of ὀκτᾰ́πους; ὀκτᾰ́πουν (Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		ὀκτᾰ́πους oktápous	ὀκτᾰ́πουν oktápoun		ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktápode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktápode		ὀκτᾰ́ποδες oktápodes	ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktápoda
Genitive		ὀκτᾰ́ποδος oktápodos	ὀκτᾰ́ποδος oktápodos		ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktapódoin	ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktapódoin		ὀκτᾰπόδων oktapódōn	ὀκτᾰπόδων oktapódōn
Dative		ὀκτᾰ́ποδῐ oktápodi	ὀκτᾰ́ποδῐ oktápodi		ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktapódoin	ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktapódoin		ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐ / ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐν oktáposi(n)	ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐ / ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐν oktáposi(n)
Accusative		ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktápoda	ὀκτᾰ́πουν oktápoun		ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktápode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktápode		ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰς oktápodas	ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktápoda
Vocative		ὀκτᾰ́πους oktápous	ὀκτᾰ́πουν oktápoun		ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktápode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktápode		ὀκτᾰ́ποδες oktápodes	ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktápoda
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		ὀκτᾰπόδως oktapódōs			—			—
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Noun

ὀκτᾰ́πους • (oktápous) m (genitive ὀκτᾰ́ποδος); ? declension

1. the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris
   • 525 CE – 605 CE, Alexander of Tralles, Twelve Books on Medicine 7.1
2. (Scythian) a person who possessed two oxen and a cart
   • 125 CE – 200 CE, Lucian, The Scythian 1

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ ὀκτᾰ́πους; τοῦ ὀκτᾰ́ποδος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὀκτᾰ́πους ho oktápous	τὼ ὀκτᾰ́ποδε tṑ oktápode	οἱ ὀκτᾰ́ποδες hoi oktápodes
Genitive	τοῦ ὀκτᾰ́ποδος toû oktápodos	τοῖν ὀκτᾰπόδοιν toîn oktapódoin	τῶν ὀκτᾰπόδων tôn oktapódōn
Dative	τῷ ὀκτᾰ́ποδῐ tôi oktápodi	τοῖν ὀκτᾰπόδοιν toîn oktapódoin	τοῖς ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐ / ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐν toîs oktáposi(n)
Accusative	τὸν ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ tòn oktápoda	τὼ ὀκτᾰ́ποδε tṑ oktápode	τοὺς ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰς toùs oktápodas
Vocative	ὀκτᾰ́πους oktápous	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktápode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδες oktápodes
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.

Related terms

• ὀκτᾰπόδης (oktapódēs)

Descendants

• → English: octopus
• Greek: χταπόδι (chtapódi)
• → Translingual: Octopus

References

• “ὀκτάπους”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὀκτάπους”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ὀκτάπους in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ὀκτάπους 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