κόλυμβος

Forms

κόλῠμβος (kólumbos) m (genitive κόλῠμβου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes calls the origin uncertain but considers the word Pre-Greek, because of the suffix ⟨-υμβ-⟩ and the variant κολυμφάω (kolumpháō) of the verb κολυμβάω (kolumbáō, “to dive”).^[2][3] He explains the alternation of ⟨μβ⟩ with ⟨βδ⟩ (κολύμβαινα (kolúmbaina) beside κολύβδαινα (kolúbdaina)) from a palatalized /b/ that lost its palatal feature after prenasalization.^[3][2] Bailly also calls it Pre-Greek.^[4]

An older explanation connects it with Latin columba (“dove”) and with the colour adjective κελαινός (kelainós, “dark”), as a bird named after its dark colour.^[5][6] Pokorny reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *kolu-mbʰos from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“dark, spotted”), and Frisk hesitantly sets up Proto-Indo-European *kolon-bʰ-, without explaining the ⟨υ⟩.^[5][7][6] Chantraine accepts the comparison despite the difference in meaning and the difficulty of the ⟨μβ⟩, but Beekes, following Walde and Hofmann, rejects it, since a common Indo-European form of this shape is impossible.^[6][2] The PHILOGLOSSA database rates the Pre-Greek origin as of medium reliability.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Aristophanes' Acharnians, as the name of a diving water bird, the little grebe.^[9][2][6]

Semantic evolution

Beside the bird name, the word served as the action noun of κολυμβάω (kolumbáō), “diving, swimming”, which Beekes regards as a back-formation from the verb.^[2] In this sense it is used by Strabo, Plutarch and Antipater of Thessalonica, and Pausanias speaks of a swimming contest.^[9][10] Hero uses it for a swimming pool, a sense otherwise covered by κολυμβήθρα (kolumbḗthra).^[9]

The related κολυμβίς (kolumbís) names the same bird, but usually means olives steeped in brine, and in that sense it was borrowed into Latin along with the thing itself.^[6][2] Medieval Greek kept the word, and Cypriot still has a form with ⟨-μπ-⟩.^[11] In Modern Greek κόλυμβος (kólymvos) means a swimmer or diver and a water bird of the grebe family.^[12]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes' Acharnians names a water bird, the little grebe.^[9][6][13]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Strabo and Antipater of Thessalonica use it for diving or swimming.^[9][13]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it, in the plural, for swimming.^[9][13]
• 2nd century AD – Pausanias mentions a swimming contest.^[9][10][13]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek keeps the word.^[11]
• Modern Greek – κόλυμβος (kólymvos) means a swimmer or diver and a kind of water bird.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small diving waterbird, the little grebe (Podiceps minor), the same as κολυμβίς (kolumbís).^[9][2][6]
2. Diving, swimming; a swimming contest.^[9][10][14]
3. A swimming pool, the same as κολυμβήθρα (kolumbḗthra).^[9]

Word family

• διακολυμβάω (diakolumbáō)
• ἐκκολυμβάω (ekkolumbáō)
• κατακολυμβάω (katakolumbáō)
• κολυμβάω (kolumbáō)
• κολυμβήθρα (kolumbḗthrā)
• κολυμβητήρ (kolumbētḗr)
• κολυμβητής (kolumbētḗs)
• ἀνακολυμβάω (anakolumbáō)
• κολυμβίς (kolumbís)
• κολυμβάς (kolumbás)
• κολύμβαινα (kolúmbaina)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
5. ^ a b Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
6. ^ a b c d e f g 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
7. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
8. ^ Scarborough, Matthew (2025), PHILOGLOSSA: database of Pre-Greek and other non-Indo-European words in Ancient Greek, version 1.0
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
11. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
12. ^ a b Πολυλεξικό, in the encyclopedia Επιστήμη και Ζωή, Athens
13. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
14. ^ Дворецкий, И. Х. (1958), Древнегреческо-русский словарь, Moscow: ГИС