ὀκτάπους

See also: οκτάπους

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous)

Etymology

From ὀκτᾰ- (oktă-, “eight”) +‎ πούς (poús, “foot”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ok.tá.puːs/ → /okˈta.pus/ → /okˈta.pus/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ok.tá.puːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /okˈta.pus/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /okˈta.pus/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /okˈta.pus/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /okˈta.pus/

Adjective

ὀκτᾰ́πους • (oktắpous) m or f (neuter ὀκτᾰ́πουν); third declension

1. eight-footed
   • Batrachomyomachia 298:

     ὀκτάποδες, δικάρηνοι, ἀχειρέες, οἱ δὲ καλεῦνται καρκίνοι

     oktápodes, dikárēnoi, akheirées, hoi dè kaleûntai karkínoi

     They had eight legs, two heads, and had no hands, and are called crabs.

   • Palatine Anthology 6.196

Inflection

Third declension of ὀκτᾰ́πους; ὀκτᾰ́πουν (Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		ὀκτᾰ́πους oktắpous	ὀκτᾰ́πουν oktắpoun		ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktắpode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktắpode		ὀκτᾰ́ποδες oktắpodes	ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktắpodă
Genitive		ὀκτᾰ́ποδος oktắpodos	ὀκτᾰ́ποδος oktắpodos		ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktăpódoin	ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktăpódoin		ὀκτᾰπόδων oktăpódōn	ὀκτᾰπόδων oktăpódōn
Dative		ὀκτᾰ́ποδῐ oktắpodĭ	ὀκτᾰ́ποδῐ oktắpodĭ		ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktăpódoin	ὀκτᾰπόδοιν oktăpódoin		ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐ / ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐν oktắposĭ(n)	ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐ / ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐν oktắposĭ(n)
Accusative		ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktắpodă	ὀκτᾰ́πουν oktắpoun		ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktắpode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktắpode		ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰς oktắpodăs	ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktắpodă
Vocative		ὀκτᾰ́πους oktắpous	ὀκτᾰ́πουν oktắpoun		ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktắpode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktắpode		ὀκτᾰ́ποδες oktắpodes	ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ oktắpodă
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		ὀκτᾰπόδως oktăpódōs			—			—
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Noun

ὀκτᾰ́πους • (oktắpous) m (genitive ὀκτᾰ́ποδος); ? declension

1. the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris
   • 525 CE – 605 CE, Alexander of Tralles, Twelve Books on Medicine 7.1
2. (Scythian) a person who possessed two oxen and a cart
   • 125 CE – 200 CE, Lucian, The Scythian 1

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ ὀκτᾰ́πους; τοῦ ὀκτᾰ́ποδος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὀκτᾰ́πους ho oktắpous	τὼ ὀκτᾰ́ποδε tṑ oktắpode	οἱ ὀκτᾰ́ποδες hoi oktắpodes
Genitive	τοῦ ὀκτᾰ́ποδος toû oktắpodos	τοῖν ὀκτᾰπόδοιν toîn oktăpódoin	τῶν ὀκτᾰπόδων tôn oktăpódōn
Dative	τῷ ὀκτᾰ́ποδῐ tôi oktắpodĭ	τοῖν ὀκτᾰπόδοιν toîn oktăpódoin	τοῖς ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐ / ὀκτᾰ́ποσῐν toîs oktắposĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰ tòn oktắpodă	τὼ ὀκτᾰ́ποδε tṑ oktắpode	τοὺς ὀκτᾰ́ποδᾰς toùs oktắpodăs
Vocative	ὀκτᾰ́πους oktắpous	ὀκτᾰ́ποδε oktắpode	ὀκτᾰ́ποδες oktắpodes
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 *-ds.

Related terms

• ὀκτᾰπόδης (oktăpódēs)

Descendants

• → English: octopus
• Greek: χταπόδι (chtapódi)
• → Translingual: Octopus

References

• “ὀκτάπους”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὀκτάπους”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ὀκτάπους in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ὀκτάπους 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