πόθος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰedʰ- (“to request, pray, ask for”). Cognate with English bid (“to invite, command”), Sanskrit गाध (gādha, “desire, cupidity”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pó.tʰos/ → /ˈpo.θos/ → /ˈpo.θos/

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

Noun

πόθος • (póthos) m (genitive πόθου); second declension

1. longing, yearning, regret
2. love, desire
3. larkspur (Consolida ajacis, syn. Delphinium ajacis)
4. asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus)

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ πόθος; τοῦ πόθου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ πόθος ho póthos	τὼ πόθω tṑ póthō	οἱ πόθοι hoi póthoi
Genitive	τοῦ πόθου toû póthou	τοῖν πόθοιν toîn póthoin	τῶν πόθων tôn póthōn
Dative	τῷ πόθῳ tôi póthōi	τοῖν πόθοιν toîn póthoin	τοῖς πόθοις toîs póthois
Accusative	τὸν πόθον tòn póthon	τὼ πόθω tṑ póthō	τοὺς πόθους toùs póthous
Vocative	πόθε póthe	πόθω póthō	πόθοι póthoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Πόθος (Póthos) (possibly)
  • →? Translingual: Pothos (connection disputed)

Related terms

• ποθέω (pothéō, “to long, yearn”)
• ποθή (pothḗ, “longing, desire”)

Descendants

• Greek: πόθος (póthos)

Further reading

• “πόθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press