σκοπός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From the root of σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “I observe”) + -ός (-ós).^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sko.pós/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /skoˈpos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /skoˈpos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /skoˈpos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /skoˈpos/

Noun

σκοπός • (skopós) m (genitive σκοποῦ); second declension

watcher, lookout
- Homeric Hymns 2. To Demeter 63:
  Ἠέλιον δ᾿ ἵκοντο θεῶν σκοπὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν
  Ēélion d’ híkonto theôn skopòn ēdè kaì andrôn
  Translation by Martin L. West
  They came to Helios, the watcher of gods and men
protector, guardian
spy, scout
mark, target
goal, aim

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ σκοπός; τοῦ σκοποῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ σκοπός ho skopós	τὼ σκοπώ tṑ skopṓ	οἱ σκοποί hoi skopoí
Genitive	τοῦ σκοποῦ toû skopoû	τοῖν σκοποῖν toîn skopoîn	τῶν σκοπῶν tôn skopôn
Dative	τῷ σκοπῷ tōî skopōî	τοῖν σκοποῖν toîn skopoîn	τοῖς σκοποῖς toîs skopoîs
Accusative	τὸν σκοπόν tòn skopón	τὼ σκοπώ tṑ skopṓ	τοὺς σκοπούς toùs skopoús
Vocative	σκοπέ skopé	σκοπώ skopṓ	σκοποί skopoí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ἄσκοπος (áskopos)
σκοπιᾱ́ (skopiā́)

Descendants

Greek: σκοπός (skopós)
- → Romanian: scop
→ Latin: scopus, scopos
- → German: Skopus
- Italian: scopo
  - → English: scope
    - → Irish: scóp
- Portuguese: escopo
- Spanish: escopo
⇒ Translingual: Abroscopus

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “σκοπέω, σκοπιά, σκοπός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1358

Further reading

“σκοπός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
σκοπός in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Bauer, Walter et al. (2001), A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
σκοπός in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
G4649 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- aim idem, page 21.
- butt idem, page 107.
- emissary idem, page 268.
- guardian idem, page 377.
- ideal idem, page 413.
- mark idem, page 514.
- object idem, page 565.
- overseer idem, page 586.
- scout idem, page 741.
- shot idem, page 769.
- spy idem, page 807.
- superintendent idem, page 839.
- target idem, page 855.
- watcher idem, page 967.

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σκοπός (skopós).

Noun

σκοπός • (skopós) m (plural σκοποί)

goal (aim, desired result)
guard (occupation)
tune, melody

Declension

Declension of **σκοπός**
	singular	plural
nominative	σκοπός (skopós)	σκοποί (skopoí)
genitive	σκοπού (skopoú)	σκοπών (skopón)
accusative	σκοπό (skopó)	σκοπούς (skopoús)
vocative	σκοπέ (skopé)	σκοποί (skopoí)

Related terms

αντικατασκοπεία f (antikataskopeía, “counterintelligence”)
αυτοσκοπός m (aftoskopós, “an end in itself”)
σκόπευση f (skópefsi, “aim, aiming”)
σκοπευτήριο n (skopeftírio, “rifle range”)
σκοπευτής m (skopeftís, “marksman”)
σκοπευτικός (skopeftikós, “shooting”)
σκοπεύτρια f (skopéftria, “markswoman”)
σκόπευτρο n (skópeftro, “viewfinder”)
σκοπεύω (skopévo, “aim, aim at”)
σκοπιά f (skopiá, “observation post, watchtower”)

Descendants

→ Romanian: scop