κύων Ancient Greek · revision 2230

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Mycenaean (Linear B)|origins=ine-pro *ḱwṓ}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /ký.ɔːn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈcy.on/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈcy.on/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''κῠ́ων''' (kúōn) ''m'' or f (genitive κῠνός); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Genitive κυνός, accusative κύνα, vocative κύον; dative plural κυσί, epic κύνεσσι.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ Mycenaean [[m|gmy|ku-na-ke-ta]], “dog-leader, huntsman”.^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ine-pro|*ḱwṓ|t=dog]], the Indo-European name of the dog, kept in most of the daughter languages.^(Wiktionary)^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) Greek preserves the old inflection, nominative κύων and genitive κυνός, like Sanskrit [[m|sa|श्वन्|tr=śván]] (genitive śúnas) and Lithuanian [[m|lt|šuo|alt=šuõ]] (genitive šuñs), and its accent is the oldest.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) The final -ν of the nominative was restored from the other cases.^(Wiktionary) The paradigm is unusual in having no old e-grade.^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ Other cognates are Hittite kuwan- “dog-man” and Hieroglyphic Luwian zuwan(i)- “dog”, Gothic [[m|got|𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃|tr=hunds]] and English [[m|en|hound]], and Latin [[m|la|canis]], whose -a- is hard to explain.^(Beekes 2010)^(NIL 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(Πάπυρος)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found on the Mycenaean tablets in ''ku-na-ke-ta'', “huntsman”.^(Beekes 2010) In Homer it is the dog, as watchdog and sheepdog and most often as hound; it is also a word of abuse for shameless women, as when Helen calls herself a dog, and for reckless men.^(LSJ 1940)^(Cunliffe 1924)^(CGL 2021) The ''Iliad'' calls Sirius the “dog of Orion”, and the ''Odyssey'' uses it for a sea creature, perhaps a dogfish.^(CGL 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Classical writers praise Laconian and Indian hounds.^(LSJ 1940) The dog gave many proverbs: “to flog a flayed dog”, of wasted effort, “the dog in the manger”, and “it is hard to let a dog taste blood”.^(LSJ 1940) Socrates swore “by the dog”.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+

+ Figuratively a person could be a watchdog: Aeschylus calls Agamemnon “watchdog of the fold” and Clytemnestra “watchdog of the house”, and politicians were called watchdogs of the people.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021) Hounds of the gods were the Erinyes, the Sphinx and Zeus's eagle, his “winged hound”.^(CGL 2021)^(Πάπυρος) Diogenes was “the Dog”, and the Cynic philosophers took their name from κύων through [[κυνικός|tr=kunikós]].^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ In the Septuagint it is the dog, a term of contempt for enemies, and once a male prostitute.^(Lust 2003) In the New Testament dogs lick sores, the dog returns to its vomit, and “do not give what is holy to the dogs”.^(BDAG 2000)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ In Modern Greek [[m|el|κύων|tr=kíon]] is a learned word, mainly in set phrases and as the name of two constellations; the everyday word for a dog is σκύλος.^(Triantafyllidis 1998)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mycenaean – The tablets have ''ku-na-ke-ta'', “huntsman”.^(Beekes 2010)

+ * Homer – The ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'' use it for dogs and as a term of abuse.^(LSJ 1940)^(Cunliffe 1924)

+ * 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it for a watchdog of the house.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ * 5th–4th century BC – Plato's Socrates swears “by the dog”.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+ * 4th century BC – Aristotle calls Diogenes “the Dog”.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 1st century AD – The New Testament warns not to give what is holy to the dogs.^(LSJ 1940)^(BDAG 2000)

+ * Modern Greek – It survives as a learned word; the everyday word is σκύλος.^(Triantafyllidis 1998)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|dog]] or bitch; a [[m|en|hound]].^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ # ''(abusive)'' A shameless person.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A watchdog, a guardian.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ # A hound of a god, as the Erinyes or Zeus's eagle.^(CGL 2021)

+ # A Cynic philosopher; ὁ κύων, Diogenes.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ # The Dog-star, [[m|en|Sirius]].^(CGL 2021)

+ # A sea creature, perhaps a [[m|en|dogfish]].^(CGL 2021)

+ # ''(Septuagint)'' A male prostitute.^(Lust 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ἁπλοκύων|tr=haplokúōn]]

+ * [[δοκεύω|tr=dokeúō]]

+ * [[ἐκκυνέω|tr=ekkunéō]]

+ * [[ἐκκυνηγέσσω|tr=ekkunēgéssō]]

+ * [[ἐκκυνηγετέω|tr=ekkunēgetéō]]

+ * [[ἔκκυνος|tr=ékkunos]]

+ * [[κυναγέτας|tr=kunagétas]]

+ * [[κυναγέω|tr=kunagéō]]

+ * [[κυναγία|tr=kunagía]]

+ * [[κυναγός|tr=kunagós]]

+ * [[κυνάγχης|tr=kunánkhēs]]

+ * [[κυναγωγός|tr=kunagōgós]]

+ * [[κυναλώπηξ|tr=kunalṓpēx]]

+ * [[κυνάμυια|tr=kunámuia]]

+ * [[κυνικός|tr=kunikós]]

+ * [[κυνηγέτης|tr=kunēgétēs]]

+ * [[κυνέη|tr=kunéē]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|canis]]

+ * [[en|cynic]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Hesychius records other senses: the spark flying from beaten iron, an Erinys, a disease and the penis.^(Hesychius)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}