Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary
ποντος
The noun ποντος (pontos) means sea, particularly the open sea, the "big blue". This word exists also in Latin, as pontus, which is a poetic pleonasm for the more common noun mare. These words ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European noun "pontoh", meaning, rather curiously, path or bridge (hence the English noun pontoon). It ultimately stems from a PIE root "pent-", meaning to pass, from which English gets its verb "to find".
The more common Greek word for sea is θαλασσα (thalassa), which occurs frequently in the New Testament. The noun ποντος (pontos) is not used, but from it comes:
- The verb ποντιζω (pontizo), meaning to plunge into the sea, with the implication of plunging into oblivion (where it can't be found: see Micah 7:19, and also Revelation 13:1). This verb too isn't used in the New Testament but from it comes:
- Together with the preposition κατα (kata), meaning down: the verb καταποντιζω (katapontizo), meaning to sink down into the sea, again with the implication of being utterly forgotten (Matthew 14:30 and 18:6 only). It's been proposed that the latter refers to execution by drowning, implying that it is better to be executed by a human government than to face the wrath of God. That would put this statement on a par with: "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28, also see 18:8). Note that the first Protestant who was executed for his faith, namely the thirty year old and highly educated Felix Manz, was executed by drowning on 5 January 1526 in Zürich, Switzerland. He was executed by fellow Protestants (who didn't like the Felix kind, namely the Anabaptists).