βοῦς
Pronunciation
- IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /bûːs/[1]
- IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈβus/[1]
- IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈvus/[1]
Forms
βοῦς (boûs) m or f (genitive βοός); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *gʷous, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cattle”), the old inherited word for cattle, kept almost unchanged in many languages.[1][2] Mycenaean has Mycenaean Greek qo-o, perhaps /gʷōns/, and qo-we.[3][4][1] The Doric and Homeric accusative βῶν (bôn) matches Sanskrit गाम् (gā́m) and the genitive plural βοῶν (boôn) Sanskrit गवाम् (gávām).[2]
Cognate with Sanskrit गौ (gaú, “cow”), Latin bōs (“ox”) (a word taken from Osco-Umbrian), Old Armenian կով (kov, “cow”), Old Irish bó (“cow”), Old High German chuo (“cow”), Old English cū (“cow”), Latvian gùovs (“cow”) and Old Church Slavonic говѧдо (govędo, “cattle”).[2][1]
Ancient grammarians derived it from a verb “to feed” or from βοάω (boáō, “to shout”).[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Homer uses it from the first book of the Iliad (1.154) for oxen, bulls and cows, and the Odyssey opens with the cattle of the Sun (1.8).[6][7] In the Iliad it also means a shield of ox-hide (7.238).[8]
Semantic evolution
Cattle were the measure of wealth: in Homer they are gifts, prizes and booty, and an ox stands for something large, strong or valuable.[7] The proverb “an ox stands on my tongue” (Theognis, Aeschylus' Agamemnon) was said by someone who could not speak freely.[7][8] Herodotus describes the sacred cattle of Egypt, and Aristotle uses it for the Apis bull.[7] Aristotle and Strabo also give the name to fishes.[8]
It is common in compounds, such as βουκόλος (boukólos) “herdsman”, βούτυρον (boútūron) “butter” and ἑκατόμβη (hekatómbē) “hecatomb”.[3][1] The diminutive βοΐδιον (boḯdion) is found in Aristophanes.[3]
Timeline
- Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for cattle and for an ox-hide shield.[9][8]
- 6th century BC – Theognis has the proverb of the ox on the tongue.[7][4]
- 5th century BC – Herodotus describes the sacred cattle of Egypt.[7][4]
- 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for the Apis bull and for a fish.[7][8][4]
Meanings
Noun
- An ox, bull, bullock; a draught ox.[8][7]
- A cow, heifer.[7]
- (plural) Cattle.[7]
- A shield of ox-hide.[8][7]
- A kind of fish.[8]
Word family
- βουδόρος (boudóros)
- βουθυσία (bouthusía)
- βουθυτέω (bouthutéō)
- βούθυτος (boúthutos)
- βουκολέω (boukoléō)
- βουκόλιον (boukólion)
- βουκόλος (boukólos)
- βούνομος (boúnomos)
- βούτης (boútēs)
- βουφορβέω (bouphorbéō)
- βουφόρβια (bouphórbia)
- βουφορβός (bouphorbós)
- βοῶπις (boôpis)
- ἑκατόμβη (hekatómbē)
Related words
Usage notes
“An ox on the tongue” was said of someone kept silent by a weighty reason; the paroemiographers wrongly explained it as bribery with coins stamped with an ox.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
- ^ a b c Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
- ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
- ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son