Etymologically
Log in

βόσκω

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 29 October 2026 at 20:21. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /bós.kɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈβos.ko/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈvos.ko/[1]

Forms

βόσκω (bóskō) [1] Mycenaean compounds su-qo-ta-o (genitive plural, “swineherds”) and qo-u-qo-ta (“cowherds”).[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₃- (“to feed, tend”), with the present suffix -σκω (-skō).[2][1] Beekes calls it an old Indo-European verb; its nearest relative is Lithuanian gúotas (“herd”), and in Greek βοτόν (botón, “beast”) belongs to the same root.[2][3] Beekes thinks βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) is probably derived from this root, but Babiniotis doubts the link, since the verb is used of goats, pigs and horses as well as cattle.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The root is in the Mycenaean compounds su-qo-ta-o “of the swineherds” and qo-u-qo-ta “cowherds”.[2][4] In Homer the verb means to tend and feed animals, and in the middle voice, of cattle and horses, to graze; the Iliad (5.162) uses the participle of cows grazing in a thicket.[3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

From tending herds the verb came to mean feeding and maintaining people in general: the earth feeds men in the Odyssey, and Herodotus and Thucydides use it of keeping mercenaries or a fleet.[3][5] The middle and passive mean “to graze, feed on”, and also, figuratively, to be nourished by something, as on hopes in Euripides.[3][5] Sophocles speaks of the sun's flame that feeds all things, and of feeding a disease.[3]

In the New Testament it is the herdsman's verb: Jesus tells Peter to feed his lambs, and the prodigal son is sent to feed pigs.[7] The Septuagint uses it the same way.[8]

In medieval Greek a form βοσκώ arose beside βόσκω, by analogy with verbs in -ώ such as πηδώ.[9][4] It survives as Modern Greek βόσκω (vósko), which still means “to graze” and “to put out to pasture”.[9][10]

Timeline

  • 14th–13th century BC – The Mycenaean tablets have the compounds Mycenaean Greek su-qo-ta-o and Mycenaean Greek qo-u-qo-ta.[2]
  • Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of tending flocks and of animals grazing.[3][5]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of maintaining mercenaries.[3][11]
  • 5th century BC – Euripides uses the passive of being fed on hopes.[3][11]
  • 1st century AD – The Gospels use it of feeding pigs and lambs.[7]
  • Medieval Greek – The by-form βοσκώ (voskó) appears beside βόσκω.[9]
  • Modern Greek – The verb still means “to graze”.[9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. Of herdsmen, to tend, feed, pasture cattle, goats or pigs.[3][5]
  2. To feed, nourish; to maintain, keep people.[3][5]
  3. (middle and passive) Of animals, to graze, feed; with the accusative, to feed on.[3][5]
  4. (middle and passive, figurative) To be fed or nurtured by something.[3]
  5. (New Testament) To tend, feed sheep or lambs, figuratively of Christ's followers.[7]

Word family

  • βοσκή (boskḗ)
  • βόσκημα (bóskēma)
  • βοσκός (boskós)
  • πορνοβοσκός (pornoboskós)
  • βοτάνη (botánē)
  • βοτήρ (botḗr)
  • βοῦς (boûs)
  • πουλυβότειρα (poulubóteirā)
  • βοτόν (botón)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  7. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
  8. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
  9. ^ a b c d Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  10. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  11. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge