Βάκχος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Related to Latin bacca (“pearl, beard, olive-berry, berry”); both possibly derive from the name of a Thracian fertility god. Payne claims a derivation from Lydian 𐤡𐤠𐤨𐤦 (paki), the name of a Lydian god seen as equivalent to Dionysus.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bákʰ.kʰos/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈbak.kʰos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈβak.xos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈvak.xos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈvak.xos/

Proper noun

Βᾰ́κχος • (Bắkkhos) m (genitive Βᾰ́κχου); second declension

Bacchus

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ Βᾰ́κχος; τοῦ Βᾰ́κχου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Βᾰ́κχος ho Bắkkhos
Genitive	τοῦ Βᾰ́κχου toû Bắkkhou
Dative	τῷ Βᾰ́κχῳ tōî Bắkkhōi
Accusative	τὸν Βᾰ́κχον tòn Bắkkhon
Vocative	Βᾰ́κχε Bắkkhe
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

βακχεία (bakkheía)
Βακχεῖον (Bakkheîon)
Βακχεῖος (Bakkheîos)
Βακχεύειν (Bakkheúein)
Βάκχευμα (Bákkheuma)
Βακχεύσιμον (Bakkheúsimon)
Βακχεύσιμος (Bakkheúsimos)
Βάκχευσις (Bákkheusis)
Βάκχη (Bákkhē)
Βακχιάδαι (Bakkhiádai)
Βακχιάζειν (Bakkhiázein)
Βάκχιος (Bákkhios)

Descendants

Greek: Βάκχος (Vákchos)
→ Latin: Bacchus
- → English: Bacchus (learned)
- → French: Bacchus (learned)
- → Italian: Bacco, bacco (learned)
- → Portuguese: Baco (learned)
- → Spanish: Baco (learned)
→ Turkish: Bakkhos

References

“Βάκχος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“Βάκχος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
Βάκχος 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 1,003

^ Payne, Annick (2019) “Native Religious Traditions from a Lydian Perspective” in S. Blakely, B.J. Collins, S. Tusa, L. Urquhart (eds.), Religious Convergence in the Ancient Mediterranean, Atlanta, pages 231–248

[1] Payne, Annick (2019) “Native Religious Traditions from a Lydian Perspective” in S. Blakely, B.J. Collins, S. Tusa, L. Urquhart (eds.), Religious Convergence in the Ancient Mediterranean, Atlanta, pages 231–248

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