ποικίλος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From earlier *ποικιλός (*poikilós), with retraction of the accent by Wheeler's law; from Proto-Indo-European *peyḱ- (“to mark, embroider, color, paint”) + -λός (-lós).
Also found as a Mycenaean Greek anthroponym 𐀡𐀑𐀫𐀦 (po-ki-ro-qo, “Ποικίλοψ (Poecilops)”). From stem *poik-, ποῖκ‑ος + -ίλος (compare ὀργίλος, ναυτίλος). Also πικρός (pikrós) is of the same root.

Pronunciation

Adjective

ποικῐ́λος • (poikílos) m (feminine ποικῐ́λη, neuter ποικῐ́λον); first/second declension

1. pied, dappled, worked in various colors, parti-colored

   Synonyms: βᾰλῐός (baliós), ῥᾰντός (rhantós)

2. changeful, various, varying, variegated
3. (figuratively) changeful, manifold, diversified
4. intricate, complex, complicated
5. (of knowledge) abstruse, subtle
6. (of persons) subtle, artful, wily
7. changeable, unstable, doubtful

Inflection

Derived terms

Descendants

• → English: poikilo- / poecilo-
• Greek: ποικίλος (poikílos)

References

Further reading

• “ποικίλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ποικίλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ποικίλος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ποικίλος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ποικίλος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “ποικίλος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G4164 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • abstruse idem, page 4.
  • artful idem, page 42.
  • artistic idem, page 42.
  • beautiful idem, page 68.
  • bespangled idem, page 75.
  • brindled idem, page 99.
  • carved idem, page 116.
  • changeful idem, page 124.
  • chequered idem, page 129.
  • complex idem, page 152.
  • complicated idem, page 152.
  • crafty idem, page 181.
  • crooked idem, page 185.
  • cunning idem, page 189.
  • curious idem, page 190.
  • dappled idem, page 194.
  • deceitful idem, page 200.
  • deep idem, page 203.
  • diverse idem, page 243.
  • diversified idem, page 243.
  • dot idem, page 247.
  • elaborate idem, page 265.
  • embroidered idem, page 268.
  • fanciful idem, page 306.
  • flashing idem, page 326.
  • florid idem, page 329.
  • flowery idem, page 330.
  • fretted idem, page 345.
  • gleaming idem, page 361.
  • glowing idem, page 363.
  • gorgeous idem, page 367.
  • guileful idem, page 378.
  • inlaid idem, page 442.
  • intricate idem, page 455.
  • involved idem, page 458.
  • inwrought idem, page 459.
  • jewelled idem, page 463.
  • knotty idem, page 471.
  • knowing idem, page 471.
  • manifold idem, page 512.
  • many-sided idem, page 513.
  • mazy idem, page 519.
  • motley idem, page 543.
  • mottled idem, page 543.
  • multifarious idem, page 546.
  • obscure idem, page 566.
  • painted idem, page 589.
  • party-coloured idem, page 595.
  • piebald idem, page 611.
  • profound idem, page 653.
  • sheeny idem, page 764.
  • shifting idem, page 765.
  • shifty idem, page 766.
  • shot idem, page 769.
  • skilful idem, page 780.
  • spangled idem, page 798.
  • speckled idem, page 800.
  • spotted idem, page 804.
  • streaky idem, page 824.
  • striped idem, page 827.
  • studded idem, page 828.
  • subtle idem, page 833.
  • tesselated idem, page 863.
  • tortuous idem, page 884.
  • twinkling idem, page 904.
  • unintelligible idem, page 922.
  • variable idem, page 944.
  • varied idem, page 944.
  • variegated idem, page 944.
  • various idem, page 944.
  • veined idem, page 946.
  • wily idem, page 980.
• Hofmann, J. B. (1949) “ποικίλος”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen‎ (in German), Munich: R. Oldenbourg

Greek

Etymology

Inherited from Ancient Greek ποικίλος (poikílos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piˈcilos/
• Hyphenation: ποι‧κί‧λος

Adjective

ποικίλος • (poikílos) m (feminine ποικίλη, neuter ποικίλο)

1. varied

   ποικίλη ύλη ― poikíli ýli ― with variety of material

   περιοδικό ποικίλης ύλης ― periodikó poikílis ýlis ― magazine with variety of material

   ποικίλες αντιδράσεις, εκφράσεις, χρήσεις ― poikíles antidráseis, ekfráseis, chríseis ― variated reactions, expressions, utilities

   ποικίλο πρόγραμμα ― poikílo prógramma ― a programme with variety (radio, or performance)

   ποικίλα συναισθήματα ― poikíla synaisthímata ― many/variated emotions

2. variegated, motley
3. lavishly ornamented

Declension

Synonyms

• (varied): πολύμορφος (polýmorfos)
• (variegated):
  • διακοσμημένος (diakosmiménos, “decorated”)
  • πλουμιστός (ploumistós) (demotic)
  • πεποικιλμένος (pepoikilménos) (learned, archaic)

Derived terms

• Ποικίλη Στοά f (Poikíli Stoá, “Stoa Poikile (ancient stoa in Athens)”)
• ποικιλία f (poikilía, “variety”)
• ποίκιλμα n (poíkilma, “the ornament”)
• ποίκιλση f (poíkilsi, “ornament in embroidery”)
• ποικιλτικός (poikiltikós, “decorative”)
• ποικίλω (poikílo, “I vary”)
• ποικιλότητα (poikilótita, “diversity”)
• ποικίλως (poikílos, “in many ways”, adverb) (archaic)

Further reading

• ποικίλος - Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής , 1998, by the "Triantafyllidis" Foundation.