English
poulpe
Poulpe comes from French poulpe ‘an octopus’, from Ancient Greek πολύπους ‘many-footed’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ped- ‘to walk, to step’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-1‘to walk, to step’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pṓds2‘foot’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπούς3‘foot’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπολύπους4‘many-footed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolypūs4‘octopus’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpoulpe5‘an octopus’
- Englishtodaypoulpe5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pṓds
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πούς
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πολύπους
- 4 Wiktionary, French poulpe
- 5 Wiktionary, English poulpe
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pṓds‘to walk, to step’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pṓdsWiktionary, Ancient Greek πούς‘foot’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπούςWiktionary, Ancient Greek πολύπους‘foot’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπολύπουςWiktionary, French poulpe‘many-footed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolypūsWiktionary, French poulpe‘octopus’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpoulpeWiktionary, English poulpe‘an octopus’
- EnglishtodaypoulpeWiktionary, English poulpe
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ped- ‘to walk, to step’
pilot, expedition, fetch, footing, impeachment, footed, impediment, expedite, fet, ped, fetter, pada, 47 more
through Proto-Indo-European *pṓds ‘foot’
feet, foot, pie, pioneer, pedestrian, pawn, pedal, pedigree, pug, baht, impede, pes, centipede, pedicure, petiole, pedometer, peon, pedicel, pedicle, quadruped, biped, 36 more
through Ancient Greek πούς ‘foot’
podium, pew, puy, tripos, poy, 17 more
through Latin polypūs ‘octopus’
Today it means
noun An octopus.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “poulpe”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *pṓds, Ancient Greek πούς, Ancient Greek πολύπους, French poulpe. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ped- / poulpe