Ἀρκτοῦρος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Compound of ᾰ̓́ρκτος (ắrktos, “bear”) +‎ οὖρος (oûros, “guard”), in reference to its proximity to Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the bear constellations).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ark.tûː.ros/ → /arkˈtu.ros/ → /arkˈtu.ros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ark.tûː.ros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /arkˈtu.ros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /arkˈtu.ros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /arkˈtu.ros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /arkˈtu.ros/

Proper noun

Ᾰ̓ρκτοῦρος • (Ărktoûros) m (genitive Ᾰ̓ρκτούρου); second declension

1. Arcturus, a bright star in the Boötes constellation.
   • 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Works and Days 566
   • 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Works and Days 610
   • Anaxag. 20
2. The time of Arcturus's rising (mid September).
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates of Kos, On Airs, Waters, and Places 10
   • 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 1137
   • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 844e
   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.78

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ Ᾰ̓ρκτοῦρος; τοῦ Ᾰ̓ρκτούρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Ᾰ̓ρκτοῦρος ho Ărktoûros
Genitive	τοῦ Ᾰ̓ρκτούρου toû Ărktoúrou
Dative	τῷ Ᾰ̓ρκτούρῳ tôi Ărktoúrōi
Accusative	τὸν Ᾰ̓ρκτοῦρον tòn Ărktoûron
Vocative	Ᾰ̓ρκτοῦρε Ărktoûre
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: Αρκτούρος (Arktoúros)
• Latin: Arctūrus
• → Russian: Аркту́р (Arktúr)

Further reading

• “Ἀρκτοῦρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἀρκτοῦρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Ἀρκτοῦρος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,002