κάκτος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

A foreign loan, possibly from Pre-Greek.[1]

Pronunciation

 

Noun

κᾰ́κτος • (kắktosf or m (genitive κᾰ́κτου); second declension

  1. (feminine) the cardoon, Cynara cardunculus
    • 371 BCE – 287 BCE, Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants 6.4.10
    • 340 BCE – 285 BCE, Philitas, Collected Works 16
    • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Theocritus, Collected Works 10.4
    • Antig., Mir. 8
    • 40 CE – 90 CE, Dioscorides, Alex. 33
  2. (masculine) the artichoke (the fruit of the cardoon); also, the cardoon’s edible leaf-stalks
    • 540 BCE – 450 BCE, Epicharmus, Collected Works 159
    • 371 BCE – 287 BCE, Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants 6.4.10

Declension

Descendants

  • Latin: cactus (see there for further descendants)

References

  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “κάκτος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 620

Further reading

Greek

Etymology

Learned borrowing from New Latin cactus, from the Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos).

Noun

κάκτος • (káktosm (plural κάκτοι)

  1. cactus

Declension

Declension of κάκτος
singular plural
nominative κάκτος (káktos) κάκτοι (káktoi)
genitive κάκτου (káktou) κάκτων (kákton)
accusative κάκτο (kákto) κάκτους (káktous)
vocative κάκτε (kákte) κάκτοι (káktoi)

References