ἄκανθος

See also: άκανθος and Ἄκανθος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἀκή (akḗ, “thorn”) +‎ ἄνθος (ánthos, “flower”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /á.kan.tʰos/ → /ˈa.kan.θos/ → /ˈa.kan.θos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /á.kan.tʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈa.kan.tʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.kan.θos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.kan.θos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈa.kan.θos/

Noun

ἄκᾰνθος • (ákănthos) m or f (genitive ἀκᾰ́νθου); second declension

1. The acanthus plant
2. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) thorn, spine, prickle

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ ἄκᾰνθος; τοῦ ἀκᾰ́νθου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ἄκᾰνθος ho ákănthos	τὼ ἀκᾰ́νθω tṑ akắnthō	οἱ ἄκᾰνθοι hoi ákănthoi
Genitive	τοῦ ἀκᾰ́νθου toû akắnthou	τοῖν ἀκᾰ́νθοιν toîn akắnthoin	τῶν ἀκᾰ́νθων tôn akắnthōn
Dative	τῷ ἀκᾰ́νθῳ tōî akắnthōi	τοῖν ἀκᾰ́νθοιν toîn akắnthoin	τοῖς ἀκᾰ́νθοις toîs akắnthois
Accusative	τὸν ἄκᾰνθον tòn ákănthon	τὼ ἀκᾰ́νθω tṑ akắnthō	τοὺς ἀκᾰ́νθους toùs akắnthous
Vocative	ἄκᾰνθε ákănthe	ἀκᾰ́νθω akắnthō	ἄκᾰνθοι ákănthoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Latin: acanthus
  • → Catalan: acant
  • → Finnish: akantus, akantti
  • → English: acanthus
  • → French: acanthe
    • → Romanian: acantă
  • → Irish: acanta-, acantas
  • → Italian: acanto
  • → Polish: akant (learned)
  • → Portuguese: acanto
  • → Spanish: acanto
  • → Swedish: akantus, akant

Further reading

• “ἄκανθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄκανθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἄκανθος in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄκανθος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)