Karpos
Encyclopedia
This article is about the Greek mythological character, for the unit within the city of Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

, go to Karpoš Municipality
Karpoš municipality
Karpoš is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.-Geography:Karpoš borders Saraj Municipality and Gjorče Petrov Municipality to the west, Čučer-Sandevo Municipality to the north, Butel Municipality to the northeast, Čair...

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In Greek mythology, Karpos , was a youth renowned for his beauty. He is the son of Zephyros (the west wind) and Khloris
Chloris
thumb|250px|right| "As she talks, her lips breathe spring roses:I was Chloris, who am now called Flora." [[Ovid]]There are many stories in Greek mythology about figures named Chloris...

 (spring, or new vegetation), forming a natural metaphor — the west wind heralds the new growth of spring, which then bears fruit.
Kharpo, one of the Horae
Horae
In Greek mythology the Horae or Hours were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. They were originally the personifications of nature in its different seasonal aspects, but in later times they were regarded as goddessess of order in general and natural justice...

, is in some ways the feminine equivalent of Karpos; her dominion was autumn, ripening, and harvesting.

Greek mythology

The story, told in Nonnus's Dionysiaca, tells about the love of two youths, Karpos and Kalamos
Kalamos
Kalamos is an ancient Greek word meaning reed or reed pen. The basis for this meaning is the story of the Greek mythological figure Kalamos, son of Maiandros .-Greek mythology:...

, son of Maiandros (god of the Maeander river). Karpos drowned in the Meander river while the two were competing in a swimming contest and in his grief, Kalamos allowed himself to also drown. He was then transformed into a water reed, whose rustling in the wind was interpreted as a sigh of lamentation.

Etymology

The word Karpos derives from the Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...

 root "kerp-" or "karp-" meaning "to gather", "to pluck" or "to harvest". Cognates can be found in many Indo-European languages including modern English in words such as "harvest" (via Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...

), "carpet", "excerpt" and "scarce" (via Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

). Coming to English directly from the Greek "karpos" are the following:
  • the prefix "carpo-" — meaning fruit. e.g. carpophagous, "fruit-eating"
  • the suffixes
    Affix
    An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...

     "-carp" and "-carpous" — also meaning fruit. e.g. ascocarp, pericarp
  • Carpel — the female reproductive organ of a flower
  • Carpology - the study of fruits and seeds
  • Carp — a fruiting body of a fungus
  • The proper name Carpophorus
    Carpophorus
    Carpophorus is a name of Greek origin that means "fruit-bearer." It can refer to:- People :*A Patriarchate of Carthage who presided from 258-?...

    (lit. "fruit-bearing")


A well-known expression in Latin is "carpe diem" (= "pluck the day", enjoy life as it is now)
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