Horse in Greek
άλογο
alogo — horse
Hear άλογο
The modern word is άλογο (alogo), stressed A-lo-go, and its origin is unflattering. It comes from ἄλογος, meaning without reason or without speech, so a horse is literally the creature that does not talk. Greek arrived at that by way of ἄλογον, a Koine word for horse.
The word English borrowed was the other one. Ίππος gives hippopotamus, which is ἵππος plus ποταμός: a river horse. It also gives hippodrome, the horse-racing track, and it lives on in Greek names like Φίλιππος, Philip, "lover of horses".
A foal is πουλάρι and a mare φοράδα. In chess the knight is το άλογο, exactly as English calls the piece a horse in casual play. Riding is ιππασία and the racetrack ιππόδρομος, both built on the older root rather than on άλογο.
Example sentences
Το άλογο τρέχει γρήγορα.
To alogo trechei grigora.
The horse runs fast.
Μου αρέσουν τα άλογα.
Mou aresoun ta aloga.
I like horses.
Related forms
- ίππος (ippos) — horse — formal, and the root of hippopotamus
- πουλάρι (poulari) — foal
- φοράδα (forada) — mare
Common questions
- Does hippo mean horse in Greek?
- Yes. Ἵππος is the older Greek word for horse, and hippopotamus is ἵππος plus ποταμός, river — a river horse. The everyday modern word is άλογο.
- Why does άλογο mean "without reason"?
- It comes from ἄλογος, without speech or reason. The neuter form ἄλογον came to mean horse in Koine Greek, and Modern Greek kept it.
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