lykós

Lykós (λύκος) is the Greek word for wolf. In both Ancient and Modern Greek, λύκος denotes the animal belonging to the genus Canis, most often the gray wolf (Canis lupus). The term appears in classical literature, folklore, and contemporary biology, where it forms part of common scientific name references and everyday speech.

Etymology: λύκος is cognate with other Indo-European wolf terms, such as Latin lupus and English wolf. Linguists generally reconstruct a Proto-Indo-European root, often rendered as *wl̥k-, from which various language branches derive their terms for wolf. The Greek form shows the regular sound changes characteristic of Greek.

Cultural and linguistic notes: In Greek myth and literature, wolves symbolize wildness and danger, and the root appears in compound words such as λύκάνθρωπος (lykánthropos), meaning werewolf, from λύκος and ἄνθρωπος. The association extends into modern language and popular culture, where "lycanthropy" refers to human-wolf transformation and derives from the same root.

See also: Canis lupus, Lycaon (myth), lycanthropy, werewolf.