καρωτόν

Forms

κᾰρωτόν (karōtón) n (genitive κᾰρωτοῦ); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Chantraine, following Frisk, suggests that it may be from Ancient Greek κάρα (kára, “head”), formed like κεφαλωτόν (kephalōtón, “onion”) from κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”).^[2] Wiktionary instead connects it with καρώ (karṓ, “caraway”).^[1] Etymonline traces it to the root Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“horn, head”), after the horn-like shape of the root.^[3]

It was borrowed into Latin as carōta.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The only literary record is a doubtful passage of Diphilus of Siphnos, a 3rd-century BC writer on natural history, quoted by Athenaeus, where it means the carrot.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Another name of the plant was σταφυλῖνος (staphulînos), and Theophrastus called it δαῦκον (daûkon).^[2][5] In a Greek–Coptic glossary of the 6th century AD the word means gleanings of grapes instead.^[4][6]

From Latin carōta came French carotte and the English carrot, recorded about 1500.^[3] Modern Greek καρότο (karóto) is a word borrowed back: medieval Greek took καρῶτα (karôta) from Latin, and the feminine singular was then understood as a neuter plural.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 3rd century BC – Diphilus of Siphnos, quoted by Athenaeus, names the carrot καρωτόν, in a doubtful passage.^[4][2][9]
• 6th century AD – A Greek–Coptic glossary on papyrus uses it for gleanings of grapes.^[4][6]
• About 1500 – English takes carrot from French, which goes back through Latin to this word.^[3]
• Modern Greek – καρότο (karóto) comes back into Greek from Latin.^[7][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The carrot.^[4][2][10]
2. (papyri) Gleanings of grapes.^[4][6]

Related words

• σταφυλῖνος (staphulînos)
• Latin carōta
• English carrot

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b c Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ a b Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
9. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
10. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli