ἀκόνιτον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Derived from ᾰ̓κόνῑτος (akónītos, “without struggle, without force or fight”, literally “without dust”). This originates from the privative prefix ἀ- (a-, “without”) and the verb κονίω (koníō, “to roll into the dust, to sprinkle or cover with dust”), or metaphorically "to prepare for combat." The root word κόνις (kónis) refers to "dust."

While it may be tempting to interpret akónītos as "invincible" due to its deadly nature, this would be incorrect. A more accurate interpretation suggests that the herb renders one powerless, unable to fight back, leading to a metaphorical 'biting of the dust' at the very spot where it is encountered. This explanation aligns with the semantic attributes uniquely associated with this phytonym.

Compare further the semantics of φθορά (phthorá) in Greek and phthora in Latin, which carry meanings of "destruction," "death," "passing out of existence," "loss," "damage," and even "seduction," "rape," "miscarriage," or "abortion." These terms denote the same species in different languages, such as modern Spanish tuera, and refer to other poisonous plants in the ranunculaceous family. The form antiphthora and variations like antithora and anthora are similarly formed with privative meanings.

Further, terms like κώνειον (kṓneion, “hemlock”) and κονή (konḗ, “hemlock”) are derived in a similar manner, often referring to plants notorious for their lethal properties, and are frequently confused in regions where neither is native.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.kó.niː.ton/ → /aˈko.ni.ton/ → /aˈko.ni.ton/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.kó.niː.ton/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈko.ni.ton/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈko.ni.ton/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈko.ni.ton/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈko.ni.ton/

Noun

ᾰ̓κόνῑτον • (akónīton) n (genitive ᾰ̓κονῑ́του); second declension

1. leopard's bane, Aconitum anthora
2. wolf's bane, Aconitum napellus

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ᾰ̓κόνῑτον; τοῦ ᾰ̓κονῑ́του (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ᾰ̓κόνῑτον tò akónīton	τὼ ᾰ̓κονῑ́τω tṑ akonī́tō	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓κόνῑτᾰ tà akónīta
Genitive	τοῦ ᾰ̓κονῑ́του toû akonī́tou	τοῖν ᾰ̓κονῑ́τοιν toîn akonī́toin	τῶν ᾰ̓κονῑ́των tôn akonī́tōn
Dative	τῷ ᾰ̓κονῑ́τῳ tôi akonī́tōi	τοῖν ᾰ̓κονῑ́τοιν toîn akonī́toin	τοῖς ᾰ̓κονῑ́τοις toîs akonī́tois
Accusative	τὸ ᾰ̓κόνῑτον tò akónīton	τὼ ᾰ̓κονῑ́τω tṑ akonī́tō	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓κόνῑτᾰ tà akónīta
Vocative	ᾰ̓κόνῑτον akónīton	ᾰ̓κονῑ́τω akonī́tō	ᾰ̓κόνῑτᾰ akónīta
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Classical Syriac: ܝܐܩܢܝܛܘܢ (yʔqnyṭwn), ܩܘܢܝܛܘܢ (qwnyṭwn)
• → Latin: aconītum (see there for further descendants)
• → Old Armenian: ակոնիտոն (akoniton), ակոնիտովն (akonitovn), անկոնիտովն (ankonitovn)
• → Old Georgian: აკონიტონი (aḳoniṭoni)

Further reading

• “ἀκόνιτον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀκόνιτον”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἀκόνιτον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀκόνιτον in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 53–54, implying Pre-Greek origin
• Furnée, Edzard Johan (1972) Die wichtigsten konsonantischen Erscheinungen des Vorgriechischen (Janua linguarum. Series practica; 150) (in German), The Hague and Paris: Mouton, page 121, speculates about connection with κῶνος (kônos, “cone”) as in κονίλη (konílē); specifically claims κονή (konḗ, “hemlock”) unrelated to κονή (konḗ, “murder”)