ταρταροῦχος

Forms

ταρτᾰροῦχος (tartaroûkhos) m or f (neuter —); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek Τάρταρος (Tártaros, “Tartarus”) + -οῦχος (-oûkhos, “holding”), “holding Tartarus”.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It occurs in the magical papyri, in the great Paris papyrus, meaning “controlling Tartarus”.^[3][4] Wiktionary records it as an epithet of Selene and Hecate.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to the language of magic and late religion.^[3][1] Hippolytus uses it in the plural, and Köbler glosses it as an evil demon.^[5][6]

It was borrowed as Latin tartarūchus.^[1] Etymonline suggests that Medieval Latin tortūca (“tortoise”), recorded from the mid-13th century and the source of English tortoise, perhaps comes from Late Latin tartaruchus “of the underworld”; others derive it from tortus (“twisted”), after the animal's feet.^[7] Wiktionary likewise lists tartaruga, tortuga and tortue among the descendants of the Latin word, while Etymonline calls the French word of unknown origin.^[1][7]

Timeline

• 3rd century AD – Hippolytus, in the Refutation of All Heresies, uses it in the plural.^[5][8]
• Mid-13th century – Medieval Latin tortūca “tortoise” is recorded, perhaps from the Late Latin form of the word.^[7]
• 1550s – English tortoise takes its modern spelling.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Controlling or ruling Tartarus; an epithet of Selene and Hecate in magical texts.^[3][1][9]
2. As a noun, a demon of Tartarus.^[6][5]

Related words

• Τάρταρος (Tártaros)
• Latin tartarūchus
• English tortoise

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
3. ^ a b c Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Charbonnet, André, Onomata, v4 (Greek proper names, companion to Bailly 2020)
5. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
9. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli