# κάνναβις
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* κάνναβος (kánnabos)

### Etymology

A Kulturwort or Wanderwort of unknown ultimate origin:
* perhaps Scythian or Thracian (according to a remark made by Herodotus, that Scythians and Thracians knew the plant)
* or possibly “belonging to the pre-Indo-European agricultural layer”. A proposal going back to Schrader derives the word from Proto-Finno-Ugric *kana-pis: compare Eastern Mari кыне́ (kyńé), Western Mari кӹне (kÿńe, “hemp”) and Komi-Permyak пыш (pyš), Udmurt пыш (pyš, “hemp”), but Finno-Ugricists deny the existence of such a compound.
Compare (within the Indo-European language family) Albanian kërp, Old Armenian կանեփ (kanepʻ), կանափ (kanapʻ), Proto-Slavic *konopь, Lithuanian kanãpė, Latvian kaņepe, Old Prussian knapios, Proto-Germanic *hanapiz (> English hemp), Middle Persian [script needed] (kʾnb /⁠kā̆naβ⁠/), Persian کنب (kanab), کنو (kanav), کنف (kanaf, “kenaf”), Northern Kurdish kinif, Sogdian [script needed] (kynpʾ /⁠kēnapā⁠/), Khwarezmian [script needed] (knb-ynk), Ossetian гӕн (gæn), гӕнӕ (gænæ), Khotanese 𐨐𐨎𐨱 (kaṃha), 𐨐𐨂𐨎𐨦𐨌 (kuṃbā), Wakhi kəm, 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 بنگ (bang), the reverse forms of it (due to a taboo).
Compare further Neo-Assyrian Akkadian 𒋆𒄣𒌦𒈾𒁍 (qunnabu), Classical Syriac ܩܢܦܐ (qnpʾ), Arabic قِنَّب (qinnab), Georgian კანაფი (ḳanapi), Svan ქან (kan), Mingrelian კიფი (ḳipi), Laz კერფი (ǩerpi), Adyghe кӏэп (kʼɛp), Kabardian щӏэп (śʼɛp), Abkhaz ақәны (akʷnə), Eastern Mari кыне (kyńe), Karakalpak [script needed] (kenep), Turkish kendir. The interrelationship of all these forms is disputed.
More at Etymology of cannabis.

### Pronunciation

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

### Noun

κάννᾰβῐς • (kánnăbĭs) f (genitive καννάβῐος or καννάβεως or καννάβῐδος); third declension
* (uncountable) hemp (Cannabis sativa)
    Synonym: θᾰλᾰσσαίγλη (thălăssaíglē)
* (countable) hemp seed

#### 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 (Late Latin, Vulgar Latin) (see there for further descendants)

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “κάνναβις”, in 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 636-7
* 1 2 Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “конопля”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
* 1 2 3 Guus Kroonen (2013) “hanipa-”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, 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
* 1 2 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, Hračʻeay (1973) “կանեփ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume II, 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
* ↑ Abajev, V. I. (1958) Историко-этимологический словарь осетинского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] (in Russian), volume I, Moscow and 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

### Further reading

* “κάνναβις”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “κάνναβις ἥμερος – Cannabis sativa”, in Dioscórides Interactivo‎ (in Spanish), 2025