ζῳδιακός

Forms

ζῳδῐᾰκός (zōidiakós) m (feminine ζῳδῐᾰκή, neuter ζῳδῐᾰκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ζῴδιον (zōídion, “small figure; sign of the zodiac”) + -ακός (-akós).^[1][2][3] ζῴδιον (zōídion) is a diminutive of ζῷον (zōîon, “living being, animal”), so the zodiac is literally the circle of the small animal figures.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest text in the GLAUx corpus is the astronomer Autolycus, in the 4th century BC, using it as a noun for the zodiac.^[5][6] LSJ's earliest citation is Eudemus, quoted by Theon of Smyrna.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

In astronomical writers it is used as a noun, with or without κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”): Euclid's Phaenomena, Hipparchus, and Polybius, Diodorus and Cleomedes.^[5][3][7] Plutarch has the full phrase ζῳδιακὸς κύκλος, and the astrologer Manetho a feminine ζῳδιακή, with “path” understood.^[2][3] The astrologers Ptolemy and Vettius Valens use an adverb ζῳδιακῶς.^[3]

It was the source of Latin zodiacus, and the English word zodiac (late 14th century) comes from Old French and Latin.^[4] Modern Greek ζωδιακός (zodiakós) is a learned word from Hellenistic Greek, as in ζωδιακός κύκλος “the zodiac”.^[8]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Autolycus and Eudemus use it for the zodiac.^[5][3][6]
• 3rd century BC – Euclid uses it in the Phaenomena.^[5][6]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius and Hipparchus use it.^[7][5][6]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses the phrase ζῳδιακὸς κύκλος.^[2][6]
• 4th century AD – Manetho uses the feminine ζῳδιακή for the zodiac.^[3][2][6]
• Late 14th century – English borrows zodiac through Old French and Latin.^[4]
• Modern Greek – ζωδιακός (zodiakós) is used in astronomy, ζωδιακός κύκλος being the zodiac.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the signs of the zodiac; ζῳδιακὸς κύκλος, the zodiacal circle.^[3][2][9]

Noun

1. (astronomy) The zodiac.^[7][3]

Related words

• ζῴδιον (zōídion)
• ζῷον (zōîon)
• Latin zodiacus
• English zodiac

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e f g Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli