μινυρίζω

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The entry by Beekes in his Etymological Dictionary of Greek reads (in paraphrase):

"Expressive and onomatopoeic words, resembling κινυρίζω (kinurízō, to lament) and κινυρός (kinurós, wailing), with which were amalgamated in a way that can no longer be established. There is no further evidence for a variation κ/μ, as proposed by Furnée. Still, Pre-Greek origin is possible, according to Beekes. Latin minurriō (to chirp, twitter) shows a remarkable similarity; if it is not directly borrowed from Greek, it was at least influenced by it. According to Leumann, this verb is the oldest form of the series, while μινυρός (minurós) is a back-formation."

Pronunciation

 

Verb

μῐνῠρῐ́ζω • (mĭnŭrĭ́zō)

  1. to complain in a low tone, whimper, whine
  2. to sing in a low tone, hum, warble

Inflection

Derived terms

  • μῐνῠ́ρῐγμᾰ (mĭnŭ́rĭgmă)
  • μῐνῠ́ρῐσμᾰ (mĭnŭ́rĭsmă)
  • μῐνῠρῐσμός (mĭnŭrĭsmós)
  • μῐνῠρῐ́στρῐᾰ (mĭnŭrĭ́strĭă)
  • μῐνῠρός (mĭnŭrós)

Further reading