Hippocamp (English)
Where does "Hippocamp" come from?
The term "hippocamp" traces back to the Ancient Greek "hippókampos," a mythological sea creature combining the words for "horse" (híppos) and "sea monster" (kámpos). This Greek root is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European "*h₁éḱwos," meaning "swift" or literally "that which has swiftness." Today, this ancient name for a fish-tailed steed has found a new home among the stars as the official title for one of Neptune’s moons.
Full etymology tree
- Hippocamp (English), 'A small moon of Neptune.'
- inherited ἱππόκαμπος (hippókampos) (Ancient Greek), 'monster with the body of a horse and the tail of a fish, hippocampus'
- compound ἵππος (híppos) (Ancient Greek), 'a horse, (feminine) a mare'
- inherited *íkkʷos (Proto-Hellenic), 'horse'
- inherited *h₁éḱwos (Proto-Indo-European), 'stallion, horse'
- inherited *íkkʷos (Proto-Hellenic), 'horse'
- compound κάμπος (kámpos) (Ancient Greek), 'sea monster'
- compound ἵππος (híppos) (Ancient Greek), 'a horse, (feminine) a mare'
- inherited ἱππόκαμπος (hippókampos) (Ancient Greek), 'monster with the body of a horse and the tail of a fish, hippocampus'
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris