εἰς ὄνυχα

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Literally “to a nail”: an expression borrowed from sculptors, who, in modelling, give the finishing touch with the fingernail, or from joiners, who test the accuracy of joints in wood by the fingernail.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /eːs ó.ny.kʰa/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /is ˈo.ny.kʰa/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /is ˈo.ny.xa/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /is ˈo.ny.xa/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /is ˈo.ni.xa/

Adverb

εἰς ὄνῠχᾰ • (eis ónŭkhă)

ad unguem
- 60 BCE – 7 BCE, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, On Demosthenes 13

Descendants

Latin: ad unguem (calque)

References

“ὄνυξ · A.3”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press