ἄρκτος

See also: άρκτος and Ἄρκτος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἄρκος (árkos)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos (“bear”). Cognates include Latin ursus, Welsh arth, Sanskrit ऋक्ष (ṛ́kṣa), Old Armenian արջ (arǰ), and Albanian ari. The meaning of “north” derives from Ἄρκτος (Árktos, “Ursa Major”), because the constellation is in the northern part of the sky.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /árk.tos/ → /ˈark.tos/ → /ˈark.tos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /árk.tos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈark.tos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈark.tos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈark.tos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈark.tos/

Noun

ᾰ̓́ρκτος • (ắrktos) f (genitive ᾰ̓́ρκτου); second declension

1. bear
2. the north

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ᾰ̓́ρκτος; τῆς ᾰ̓́ρκτου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓́ρκτος hē ắrktos	τὼ ᾰ̓́ρκτω tṑ ắrktō	αἱ ᾰ̓́ρκτοι hai ắrktoi
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓́ρκτου tês ắrktou	τοῖν ᾰ̓́ρκτοιν toîn ắrktoin	τῶν ᾰ̓́ρκτων tôn ắrktōn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓́ρκτῳ têi ắrktōi	τοῖν ᾰ̓́ρκτοιν toîn ắrktoin	ταῖς ᾰ̓́ρκτοις taîs ắrktois
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓́ρκτον tḕn ắrkton	τὼ ᾰ̓́ρκτω tṑ ắrktō	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓́ρκτους tā̀s ắrktous
Vocative	ᾰ̓́ρκτε ắrkte	ᾰ̓́ρκτω ắrktō	ᾰ̓́ρκτοι ắrktoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Coordinate terms

compass points:  ^[edit]

	ἄρκτος (árktos) Βορέας (Boréas)
δύσις (dúsis) Ζέφυρος (Zéphuros)		ἀνατολή (anatolḗ) Εὖρος (Eûros)
	μεσημβρία (mesēmbría) Νότος (Nótos)

Derived terms

• ἄρκῐον (árkĭon)
• ἀρκτικός (arktikós)
• Ἄρκτος (Árktos)

Descendants

• → English: Arcturus
• Greek: άρκτος (árktos), αρκούδα (arkoúda)
• → Latin: arctus, Arctos, Arctus, Arctūrus
• Pontic Greek: άρκος (árkos)
• Translingual: Ursus arctos, Ursus arctos horribilis

References

• “ἄρκτος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄρκτος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἄρκτος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἄρκτος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄρκτος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἄρκτος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• ἄρκτος 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
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • arctic idem, page 38.
  • arctus idem, page 38.
  • bear idem, page 66.
  • north idem, page 562.