κάνναβις

Ancient Greek

Κάνναβις, illustration in the Vienna Dioscurides

Alternative forms

κάνναβος (kánnabos)

Etymology

A Kulturwort or Wanderwort of unknown ultimate origin, perhaps Scythian or Thracian[1] (according to a remark made by Herodotus, that Scythians and Thracians knew the plant[2]) or possibly “belonging to the pre-Indo-European agricultural layer”.[3]

A proposal going back to Schrader derives the word from Proto-Finno-Ugric *kana-pis: compare Eastern Mari кыне́ (kyné), Western Mari кӹне (kÿne, “hemp”) and Komi-Permyak пыш (pyš), Udmurt пыш (pyš, “hemp”),[4][5] but Finno-Ugricists deny the existence of such a compound[6].

Compare (inside the Indo-European language family) Albanian kërp, Old Armenian կանեփ (kanepʿ), կանափ (kanapʿ),[7] Proto-Slavic *konopь,[2][6] Lithuanian kanãpė, Latvian kaņepe, Old Prussian knapios, Proto-Germanic *hanapiz (> English hemp),[3] Middle Persian [script needed] (kʾnb /kā̆naβ/), Persian ‎ (kanab), ‎ (kanav), ‎ (kanaf, “kenaf”),[8] Northern Kurdish kinif,[9] Sogdian [script needed] (kynpʾ /kēnapā/),[10] Khwarezmian [script needed] (knb-ynk), Ossetian гӕн (gæn), гӕнӕ (gænæ), Khotanese 𐨐𐨎𐨱‎ (kaṃha), 𐨐𐨂𐨎𐨦𐨌‎ (kuṃbā),[11] Wakhi kəm,[12] perhaps also to Sanskrit शण (śaṇá), Middle Persian [script needed] (šn' /šan/), the satem variants of the same etymon, and to Sanskrit भाङ्ग (bhāṅga), Persian ‎ (bang), the reverse forms of it (due to a taboo). Compare further Sumerian [script needed] (kunibu),[1] Neo-Assyrian Akkadian 𒋆𒄣𒌦𒈾𒁍 (qunnabu, qunappu, qun(u)bu), Classical Syriac ܩܢܦܐ‎ (qnpʾ),[3] Arabic قِنَّب‎ (qinnab), Georgian კანაფი (ḳanapi), Svan ქან (kan), Mingrelian კიფი (ḳipi), Laz კერფი (ǩerpi), Adyghe кӏэп (kʼep), Kabardian щӏэп (śʼep), Eastern Mari [script needed] (keṅe), [script needed] (kiṅe), Karakalpak [script needed] (kenep), Turkish kenevir, kendir. The interrelationship of all these forms is disputed.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kán.na.bis/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈkan.na.bis/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈkan.na.βis/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈkan.na.vis/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈka.na.vis/

Noun

κάννᾰβῐς • (kánnabis) f (genitive καννάβῐος or καννάβεως or καννάβῐδος); third declension

(uncountable) hemp (Cannabis sativa)
Synonym: θᾰλᾰσσαίγλη (thalassaíglē)
(countable) hemp seed

Declension

Third declension of ἡ κάνναβῐς; τῆς καννάβῐος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ κάνναβῐς hē kánnabis
Genitive	τῆς καννάβῐος / καννάβεως tês kannábios / kannábeōs
Dative	τῇ καννάβει têi kannábei
Accusative	τὴν κάνναβῐν tḕn kánnabin
Vocative	κάνναβῐ kánnabi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of ἡ κάνναβῐς; τῆς καννάβῐδος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ἡ κάνναβῐς hē kánnabis	αἱ καννάβῐδες hai kannábides
Genitive	τῆς καννάβῐδος tês kannábidos	τῶν κανναβῐ́δων tôn kannabídōn
Dative	τῇ καννάβῐδῐ têi kannábidi	ταῖς καννάβῐσῐ / καννάβῐσῐν taîs kannábisi(n)
Accusative	τὴν καννάβῐδᾰ tḕn kannábida	τᾱ̀ς καννάβῐδᾰς tā̀s kannábidas
Vocative	κάνναβῐς kánnabis	καννάβῐδες kannábides
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ds.

Derived terms

κανναβάριος (kannabários)
καννάβινος (kannábinos)
καννάβιον (kannábion)
κανναβίς (kannabís)
κανναβισθῆναι (kannabisthênai)
κανναβίσκα (kannabíska)

Descendants

Greek: κάνναβη (kánnavi)
- → Aromanian: cãnavi
→ Latin: cannabis, cannaba, cannabum, cannabus, canapa, canapis, canapus, canava, canva (see there for further descendants)

References

Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 680–681
Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “конопля”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
Kroonen, Guus (2013), “hanipa-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
Schrader, Otto (1901) Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde: Grundzüge einer Kultur- und Völkergeschichte Alteuropas (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, page 331
Berneker, Erich (1908–1913) Slavisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume I, Heidelberg: Carl Winter's Universitätsbuchhandlung, page 559
Trubachyov, Oleg, et al., editors (1974–2021), “188”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), Moscow: Nauka, page 10
Ačaṙean, Hračʿeay (1973), “կանեփ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), volume II, 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, Yerevan: University Press, page 513ab
Edelʹman, D. I. (2011) Etimologičeskij slovarʹ iranskix jazykov [Etymological Dictionary of Iranian Languages] (in Russian), volume IV, Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura, pages 218–220
Cabolov, R. L. (2001) Etimologičeskij slovarʹ kurdskovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Kurdish Language] (in Russian), volume I, Moscow: Russian Academy Press Vostochnaya Literatura, pages 552–553
Абаев, В. И. (1958) Историко-этимологический словарь осетинского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] (in Russian), volume I, Moscow, Leningrad: Academy Press, pages 512–513
Bailey, H. W. (1979) Dictionary of Khotan Saka, Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University press, pages 51–52, 62
Steblin-Kamenskij, I.M. (1999) Etimologičeskij slovarʹ vaxanskovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Wakhi Language] (in Russian), Saint Petersburg: Peterburgskoje Vostokovedenije, →ISBN, page 216