κάραβος

Forms

κᾱ́ρᾰβος (kā́rabos) m (genitive κᾱρᾰ́βου, diminutive κᾱρᾰ́βῐον); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, a word that appears in several of the variants usual in that layer:^[2][3] the Hesychius gloss καρβάρεοι (karbáreoi) “crayfish”, the prenasalized καράμβιος (karámbios) (a variant reading in Aristotle) and κεράμβυξ (kerámbux), κεράμβηλον (kerámbēlon) with a suffix well known in Pre-Greek, and a form with initial s- that Latin scarabaeus presupposes and the gloss σκορόβυλος (skoróbulos, “beetle”) may continue.^[2] He rejects Frisk's derivation of these forms from κέρας (kéras, “horn”).^[2] Pokorny listed it, with doubt, as a possibly Macedonian derivative of καρίς (karís, “shrimp”) under the root Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“head; horn”), and Boisacq took its β for a Macedonian treatment of Greek ⟨φ⟩.^[4][2] Others call it a Mediterranean word, certainly borrowed,^[5][6] and Cohen pointed to similar Arabic words.^[2] Philoglossa rates the Pre-Greek origin of medium reliability.^[7]

From κάραβος came Latin cārabus “crab” and “small boat”, continued in Romance (French caravelle), and a Slavic word for ship, such as Russian корабль (korablʹ).^[2][6]

Ancient grammarians explained it as an animal that walks on its head: Herodian and the Etymologicum Magnum derive it from κάρα (kára, “head”) and βαίνω (baínō, “to walk”), since its head is close to the ground.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the comic poet Epicharmus and in Aristophanes, of a prickly crustacean, the crayfish or spiny lobster.^[10][2][7]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle distinguishes the κάραβος from the crab, καρκίνος (karkínos), and also uses the name for a horned beetle that lives in dry wood.^[10][2][11] Nearchus, quoted by Arrian, describes an Eastern species of the crustacean.^[10] Hesychius adds that it was a dish roasted over coals, the grubs in dry timber, and, among the Macedonians, a gate.^[12][10]

The Etymologicum Magnum records it as the name of a light ship, explaining that κάρα was also a word for the keel.^[9][2] The diminutive καράβιον (kārábion) meant a small boat towed behind a ship.^[2] Medieval vernacular Greek used κάραβος both for a beetle and for a ship,^[13] and Modern Greek καράβι (karávi) “ship” continues the medieval diminutive.^[14][15] Modern Greek κάραβος names a group of beetles.^[16] Latin took the word over as cārabus mostly for a light boat, which is the source of French caravelle and Portuguese caravela.^[6][2]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes uses it for a crayfish.^[10][2]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for a horned beetle and distinguishes the crustacean from the crab.^[10][2]
• 2nd century AD – Galen mentions the crustacean.^[10][7]
• 5th century AD (probably) – Hesychius glosses it as a roasted dish, woodworm grubs, a sea creature and a Macedonian word for a gate.^[12]
• 12th–13th century AD – The Etymologicum Magnum records it as a name for a light ship.^[9][2]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek uses it for a beetle and for a ship.^[13]
• Modern Greek – καράβι (karávi) is the ordinary word for a ship.^[14][15]

Meanings

Noun

1. A prickly crustacean, a crayfish or spiny lobster.^[10][2][17]
2. A horned beetle, such as the stag beetle or a longhorn beetle.^[10][18][2]
3. A light ship or boat.^[10][9][11]
4. (Macedonian) A gate.^[12][10]
5. A dish roasted over coals; grubs found in dry wood.^[12]

Word family

• καράβιον (kārábion)
• καραβίς (karabís)

Related words

• Latin cārabus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
5. ^ Bailly, Anatole (1901), Abrégé du dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
7. ^ a b c Scarborough, Matthew (2025), PHILOGLOSSA: database of Pre-Greek and other non-Indo-European words in Ancient Greek, version 1.0
8. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
9. ^ a b c d Gaisford, Thomas, ed. (1848), Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
12. ^ a b c d Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
13. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
14. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
15. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
16. ^ Πολυλεξικό, in the encyclopedia Επιστήμη και Ζωή, Athens
17. ^ Woordenboek Grieks/Nederlands (2012–), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, https://woordenboekgrieks.nl
18. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1889), An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press