ἀποκολοκύντωσις

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 18 October 2016

Etymology

A word invented for use in the title of the work Apocolocyntosis (divi) Claudii, a satire by Seneca on the apotheosis of the Roman emperor Claudius. From ἀπο- (apo-) + κολοκυνθίς (kolokunthís, gourd) + -όω (-óō) + -σις (-sis, verbal noun suffix), by analogy with ἀποθέωσις (apothéōsis).

Pronunciation

 

Noun

ἀποκολοκύντωσις (apokolokúntōsis) f (genitive ἀποκολοκυντώσεως); third declension

  1. (nonce word) pumpkinification (act of turning into a pumpkin, in jocular contrast with deification)
    • 155 CE – 235 CE, Cassius Dio, Collected Works 61.35:
      Συνέθηκε μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὁ Σενέκας σύγγραμμα, ἀποκολοκύντωσιν αὐτὸ ὥσπερ τινὰ ἀπαθανάτισιν ὀνομάσας ..
      Sunéthēke mèn gàr kaì ho Senékas súngramma, apokolokúntōsin autò hṓsper tinà apathanátisin onomásas ..
      Seneca himself had composed a work that he called “Pumpkinification” —a word formed on the analogy of “deification” ..

Inflection

Descendants

References

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