ὀκτώ Ancient Greek · revision 2288

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Homer, Iliad|origins=ine-pro *oḱtṓw}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /okˈto/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /okˈto/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ὀκτώ''' (oktṓ) (ordinal ὄγδοος, adverbial ὀκτᾰ́κῐς)^(Wiktionary)

+ Boeotian and Lesbian ὀκτό, Heraclean hοκτώ (after ἕξ and ἑπτά), Elean ὀπτώ (after ἑπτά).^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|grk-pro|*oktṓ]], [[inh|ine-pro|*oḱtṓw|t=eight]].^(Wiktionary)^(Beekes 2010) The Indo-European word was evidently an old dual, but its further analysis is quite uncertain.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) Beekes considers a form *h₃eḱt- with a question mark.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)^(Πάπυρος)

+

+ Cognate with [[sa|अष्टौ|tr=aṣṭā́u]], [[la|octō]], [[got|𐌰𐌷𐍄𐌰𐌿|tr=ahtau]] and [[lt|aštuoni]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)^(Wiktionary) [[xcl|ութ|tr=utʻ]], like Elean ὀπτώ, was remade after the word for “seven”.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) The ordinal is [[ὄγδοος|tr=ógdoos]], with a voiced /gd/.^(Frisk 1960)^(Πάπυρος)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found in Homer: the ''Iliad'' counts eight young sparrows, with their mother the ninth.^(Cunliffe 1924)^(Πάπυρος)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In compounds the older form was ὀκτω- (ὀκτωκαίδεκα “eighteen”), but ὀκτα- became more usual, after ἑπτα- and ἑξα-.^(Beekes 2010)^(Πάπυρος) A proverb “all eight” referred to the eight heavenly spheres.^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ It continued in medieval Greek and survives as [[el|οκτώ|tr=októ]], beside the popular [[el|οχτώ|tr=ochtó]], where /kt/ became /xt/ as in χτίζω beside κτίζω.^(Kriaras)^(Πάπυρος)^(Wiktionary) [[rom|oxto]] in Romani was borrowed from Greek.^(Wiktionary) English [[m|en|octa-]] comes from it, and [[m|en|octo-]] comes from the Latin cognate.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Homer – ὀκτώ “eight”.^(Cunliffe 1924)^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 5th–4th century BC – Elean inscriptions spell it ὀπτώ.^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 3rd century BC – Boeotian inscriptions have ὀκτό.^(LSJ 1940)

+ * Medieval Greek – both οκτώ and οχτώ are found.^(Kriaras)

+ * Modern Greek – οκτώ and οχτώ.^(Πάπυρος)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|eight]].^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ὄγδοος|tr=ógdoos]]

+ * [[ὀκτάκις|tr=oktákis]]

+ * [[ὀγδοήκοντα|tr=ogdoḗkonta]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|octo|alt=octō]]

+ * [[en|octa-]]

+ * [[en|octopus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}