κόλπος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kʷelp- (“to curve, arch”), which would also be the source of Proto-Germanic *hwalfą (“vault, arch”), though Greek *πόλπος (*pólpos) would be expected, and the semantics are distant.

Alternatively, if the original meaning was closer to “crevice” and from a verb “to carve, cut, cleave”, compare Proto-Germanic *halbaz (“half”) and Sanskrit कल्प (kálpa, “rule, precept, arrangement”, literally “something cut to shape?”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kolp-, possibly an extension of *(s)kel(H)- (“to cut, slice, chop, carve”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kól.pos/ → /ˈkol.pos/ → /ˈkol.pos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kól.pos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈkol.pos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈkol.pos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈkol.pos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈkol.pos/

Noun

κόλπος • (kólpos) m (genitive κόλπου); second declension (Epic, Attic, Doric, Aeolic, Koine)

1. bosom, lap
2. a fold in fabric around the bosom
   • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Theocritus, 15 134:

     λύσασαι δὲ κόμαν καὶ ἐπὶ σφυρὰ κόλπον ἀνεῖσαι

     lúsasai dè kóman kaì epì sphurà kólpon aneîsai

3. any hollow space, pocket
4. especially of water, the hollow between waves
5. gulf, bay, creek

Declension

Second declension of ὁ κόλπος; τοῦ κόλπου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ κόλπος ho kólpos	τὼ κόλπω tṑ kólpō	οἱ κόλποι hoi kólpoi
Genitive	τοῦ κόλπου toû kólpou	τοῖν κόλποιν toîn kólpoin	τῶν κόλπων tôn kólpōn
Dative	τῷ κόλπῳ tôi kólpōi	τοῖν κόλποιν toîn kólpoin	τοῖς κόλποις toîs kólpois
Accusative	τὸν κόλπον tòn kólpon	τὼ κόλπω tṑ kólpō	τοὺς κόλπους toùs kólpous
Vocative	κόλπε kólpe	κόλπω kólpō	κόλποι kólpoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• βᾰθῠ́κολπος (bathúkolpos)
• μελᾰνόκολπος (melanókolpos)
• Σαχαλίτης κόλπος (Sakhalítēs kólpos)

 

Descendants

• → Greek: κόλπος (kólpos) (learned)
• → Latin: colfus, colphus, culfus
  • Asturian: golfu
  • Catalan: golf
  • French: gouffre
  • Friulian: golf
  • Occitan: gòlf
  • Portuguese: golfo
  • Sicilian: gurfu
  • Spanish: golfo
  • Italian: golfo
    • → German: Golf
      • → Czech: golf
    • → Norwegian: golf
    • → Old French: golfe
      • French: golfe
        • → Romanian: golf
        • → Middle English: gulf
          • English: gulf
• → New Latin: colpos, colpus (learned)
• → Azerbaijani: körfəz
• → Ottoman Turkish: كورفز (körfez)

  > Turkish: körfez (inherited)

  • → Crimean Tatar: корьфез, körfez
• → Uyghur: كۆرپەز (körpez)
• → Uzbek: koʻrfaz

Further reading

• “κόλπος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “κόλπος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “κόλπος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• κόλπος 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
• κόλπος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “κόλπος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2859 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • bay idem, page 65.
  • bosom idem, page 90.
  • breast idem, page 96.
  • cove idem, page 179.
  • creek idem, page 183.
  • estuary idem, page 284.
  • fold idem, page 332.
  • gulf idem, page 379.
  • inlet idem, page 442.
  • lap idem, page 476.
  • tuck idem, page 900.
  • valley idem, page 943.

Greek

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κόλπος (kólpos). Doublet of κόρφος (kórfos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkol.pos/

Noun

κόλπος • (kólpos) m (plural κόλποι)

1. bosom
2. bay, gulf
3. (anatomy) vagina
4. (anatomy) atrium (of the heart)

Declension

Declension of κόλπος

	singular	plural
nominative	κόλπος (kólpos)	κόλποι (kólpoi)
genitive	κόλπου (kólpou)	κόλπων (kólpon)
accusative	κόλπο (kólpo)	κόλπους (kólpous)
vocative	κόλπε (kólpe)	κόλποι (kólpoi)

Synonyms

• (vagina): κολεός m (koleós)

Related terms

• κολπίτιδα f (kolpítida, “vaginitis”)