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 oktṓpodă
Genitive		ὀκτώποδος oktṓpodos		ὀκτώποδος oktṓpodos		ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin		ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin		ὀκτωπόδων oktōpódōn		ὀκτωπόδων oktōpódōn
Dative		ὀκτώποδῐ oktṓpodĭ		ὀκτώποδῐ oktṓpodĭ		ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin		ὀκτωπόδοιν oktōpódoin		ὀκτώποσῐ ὀκτώποσῐν oktṓposĭ(n)		ὀκτώποσῐ ὀκτώποσῐν oktṓposĭ(n)
Accusative		ὀκτώποδᾰ oktṓpodă		ὀκτώπουν oktṓpoun		ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode		ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode		ὀκτώποδᾰς oktṓpodăs		ὀκτώποδᾰ oktṓpodă
Vocative		ὀκτώπους oktṓpous		ὀκτώπουν oktṓpoun		ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode		ὀκτώποδε oktṓpode		ὀκτώποδες oktṓpodes		ὀκτώποδᾰ oktṓpodă
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 tōî oktṓpodĭ	τοῖν ὀκτωπόδοιν toîn oktōpódoin	τοῖς ὀκτώποσῐ / ὀκτώποσῐν toîs oktṓposĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν ὀκτώποδᾰ tòn oktṓpodă	τὼ ὀκτώποδε tṑ oktṓpode	τοὺς ὀκτώποδᾰς toùs oktṓpodăs
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 *-δς (*-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: октопо́д (oktopód)
• Czech: oktopoda
• Dutch: octopus
• English: octopus
  • → Irish: ochtapas
• Byzantine Greek: ὀκταπόδιν (oktapódin)
  • Modern Greek: χταπόδι (chtapódi)
  • → Turkish: ahtapot
    • → Northern Kurdish: ahtepot
    • → Zazaki: axtapot
• Latin: octōpūs (plural octōpodēs)
• Persian: اختاپوس (oxtâpus)
• Serbo-Croatian: окто̀по̄д (oktòpōd)
• 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