πόντος

See also: Πόντος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *póntos, from Proto-Indo-European *pónteh₁s (“path, road”).

Cognates include Sanskrit पथिन् (páthin), Old Armenian հուն (hun, “riverbed”), Latin pōns, and Old English findan (English find).

Attested in Mycenaean Greek as 𐀡𐀵 (po-to).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pón.tos/ → /ˈpon.tos/ → /ˈpon.dos/

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

Noun

πόντος • (póntos) m (genitive πόντου); second declension

1. the sea
   1. (often combined with epithets in Homer)
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 2.613:

        αὐτὸς γάρ σφιν δῶκεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων
        νῆας ἐϋσσέλμους περάᾱν ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον
        Ἀτρεΐδης, ἐπεὶ οὔ σφι θαλάσσια ἔργα μεμήλει.

        autòs gár sphin dôken ánax andrôn Agamémnōn
        nêas eüssélmous peráān epì oínopa pónton
        Atreḯdēs, epeì oú sphi thalássia érga memḗlei.

        For Agamemnon son of Atreus himself had given [the Arcadians]
        strong-benched ships for crossing the wine-dark sea,
        since they weren't interested in the work of the sea.

      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 23.744:

        Φοίνῑκες δ’ ἄγον ἄνδρες ἐπ’ ἠεροειδέα πόντον,

        Phoínīkes d’ ágon ándres ep’ ēeroeidéa pónton,

        Phoenician men had brought [the mixing bowl] over the misty sea,

      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.196–198:

        οὐ γάρ πω τέθνηκεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,
        ἀλλ’ ἔτι που ζωὸς κατερῡ́κεται εὐρέϊ πόντῳ,
        νήσῳ̆ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ,

        ou gár pō téthnēken epì khthonì dîos Odusseús,
        all’ éti pou zōòs katerū́ketai euréï póntōi,
        nḗsōi en amphirútēi,

        [Athena disguised as Mentes talking to Telemachus:]
        For noble Odysseus hasn't died yet on earth,
        but is probably still alive and being detained on the wide sea
        on a sea-girt isle,

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ πόντος; τοῦ πόντου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ πόντος ho póntos	τὼ πόντω tṑ póntō	οἱ πόντοι hoi póntoi
Genitive	τοῦ πόντου toû póntou	τοῖν πόντοιν toîn póntoin	τῶν πόντων tôn póntōn
Dative	τῷ πόντῳ tôi póntōi	τοῖν πόντοιν toîn póntoin	τοῖς πόντοις toîs póntois
Accusative	τὸν πόντον tòn pónton	τὼ πόντω tṑ póntō	τοὺς πόντους toùs póntous
Vocative	πόντε pónte	πόντω póntō	πόντοι póntoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ποντοπόρος (pontopóros)

See also

• πάτος (pátos)

References

• “πόντος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “πόντος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “πόντος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• πόντος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• πόντος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “πόντος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • deep idem, page 203.
  • hellespont idem, page 395.
  • pontus idem, page 626.
  • sea idem, page 744.

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Greek

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpon.dos/

Etymology 1

From Venetian pont (“point, end”).

Noun

πόντος • (póntos) m (plural πόντοι)

1. point (the unit of scoring in a game or competition)
2. centimeter
3. ladder (length of unravelled fabric in a knitted garment, especially in nylon stockings)

Declension

Declension of πόντος

	singular	plural
nominative	πόντος •	πόντοι •
genitive	πόντου •	πόντων •
accusative	πόντο •	πόντους •
vocative	πόντε •	πόντοι •

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos, “see above”).

Noun

πόντος • (póntos) m (plural πόντοι)

1. open sea, large sea

Usage notes

The more common terms:

• ωκεανός m (okeanós, “ocean”) (e.g. Atlantic, Pacific)
• θάλασσα f (thálassa, “larger sea”) (e.g. Mediterranean, Baltic, Caribbean)
• πέλαγος n (pélagos, “smaller sea”) (e.g. Adriatic, Aegean, Ionian)

Declension

Declension of πόντος

	singular	plural
nominative	πόντος •	πόντοι •
genitive	πόντου •	πόντων •
accusative	πόντο •	πόντους •
vocative	πόντε •	πόντοι •

Synonyms

• see: πέλαγος m (pélagos)

Derived terms

• Εύξεινος Πόντος m (Éfxeinos Póntos, “Black Sea”)