# βόσκω
## Ancient Greek
### Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₃- (“to feed, tend”) with inchoative suffix -σκω (-skō). Cognates include βοῦς (boûs, “cow”) and Lithuanian gúotas (“herd”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bós.kɔː/ → /ˈβos.ko/ → /ˈvos.ko/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /bós.kɔː/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈbos.ko/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈβos.ko/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈvos.ko/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈvos.ko/

### Verb

βόσκω • (bóskō)
* (of herdsmen) feed, tend
** (generally) feed, nourish, support, maintain, keep
** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Illiad 15.545-549:συλήσειν· Ἕκτωρ δὲ κασιγνήτοισι κέλευσε πᾶσι μάλα, πρῶτον δʼ Ἱκεταονίδην ἐνένιπεν ἴφθιμον Μελάνιππον. ὃ δʼ ὄφρα μὲν εἰλίποδας βοῦς βόσκʼ ἐν Περκώτῃ δηΐων ἀπὸ νόσφιν ἐόντων· αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ Δαναῶν νέες ἤλυθον ἀμφιέλισσαι,sulḗsein; Héktōr dè kasignḗtoisi kéleuse pâsi mála, prôton d Hiketaonídēn enénipen íphthimon Melánippon. hò d óphra mèn eilípodas boûs bósk en Perkṓtēi dēḯōn apò nósphin eóntōn; autàr epeì Danaôn nées ḗluthon amphiélissai,(please add an English translation of this quotation)
** Apollonius, Argonautica 2.820-822:κάπριος ἀργιόδων, ὀλοὸν τέρας, ὅν ῥα καὶ αὐταὶ νύμφαι ἑλειονόμοι ὑπεδείδισαν· οὐδέ τις ἀνδρῶν ἠείδει· οἶος δὲ κατὰ πλατὺ βόσκετο τῖφος.káprios argiódōn, oloòn téras, hón rha kaì autaì númphai heleionómoi hupedeídisan; oudé tis andrôn ēeídei; oîos dè katà platù bósketo tîphos.(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* (passive voice, of cattle) feed, graze
** (figuratively) to be fed or nurtured

#### Related terms

* βοτάνη (botánē)
* βοτήρ (botḗr)
* Πολυβώτης (Polubṓtēs)
* πορνοβοσκός (pornoboskós)
* πουλυβότειρα (poulubóteira)

#### Usage notes

* The Doric present infinitive βόσκεν (bósken) is attested.
* The unaugmented iterative Epic imperfect form βοσκέσκονθ (boskéskonth) is attested, presumably an equivalent to βοσκέσκοντο (boskéskonto).

#### Descendants

* Greek: βόσκω (vósko)

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “βόσκω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 227-8

### Further reading

* “βόσκω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “βόσκω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “βόσκω”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* βόσκω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* βόσκω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* βόσκω in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
* G1006 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* βόσκω, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

## Greek
### Alternative forms

* βοσκάω (voskáo) / βοσκώ (voskó)

### Etymology

Inherited from Ancient Greek βόσκω (bóskō, “to feed, to graze”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈvo.sko/
* Hyphenation: βό‧σκω

### Verb

βόσκω • (vósko) (past βόσκησα, passive βόσκομαι, p‑past βοσκήθηκα, ppp βοσκημένος)
* (transitive) to graze

#### Related terms

* αβόσκητος (avóskitos, “ungrazed”)
* βοσκή f (voskí, “pasture, grass”)
* βόσκημα n (vóskima, “grazing”)
* βόσκηση f (vóskisi, “grazing”)
* βοσκήσιμος (voskísimos, “suitable for pasture”)
* βοσκόπουλο m (voskópoulo, “shepherd boy”)
* βοσκός m (voskós, “shepherd”) & compounds
* βοσκοτόπι n (voskotópi, “pasture”)
* βοσκότοπος m (voskótopos, “pasture”)
* υποβόσκω (ypovósko, “underlie secretely -negative sense-”) (formal)