Bosphorus
/ˈbɒs.fə.rəs/noun
A narrow strait in Turkey that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara.
Did you know?Its Greek name was linked to Io, the woman transformed into a cow, so a real-world strait was imagined through the lens of divine pursuit and metamorphosis.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Βόσπορος (Bósporos)
“the Bosporus; literally a cow-crossing or ox-ford”
Classical Antiquity
Greek
βοῦς (boûs) + πόρος (póros)
“cow/ox + passage, ford, crossing”
Latin
Latin
Bosporus
“name of the strait, borrowed from Greek”
Middle English
English
Bosphorus / Bosporus
“the strait between Europe and Asia at Constantinople”
Modern English
English
Bosphorus
“the modern English name of the strait in Istanbul”