potamós

Potamós (πόταμος) is the Greek word for river. In modern Greek, πόταμος denotes a natural watercourse that flows from higher to lower terrain, typically emptying into the sea, a lake, or another river. The word is also used in geography and hydrology and appears in many Greek place names and expressions involving rivers. In ancient Greek literature, the term is tied to the river gods, as the Potamoi are a group of divine river deities, sons of Oceanus and Tethys, who personify individual rivers.

The term gives rise to scientific and descriptive vocabulary in English and other languages. The study of rivers is potamology (from potamos + logos), and related terms include potamograph or potamography for the mapping or description of rivers, and potamic as an adjective meaning river-related. The form potam- also appears as a combining form in geographic and biological terms describing rivers or riverine features.

In modern usage, πόταμος continues to function as the common noun in Greek and features in numerous Greek toponyms. It is distinct from similarly named rivers in other languages whose names may originate from different linguistic roots.