φάρυγξ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

φᾰ́ρῠξ (phắrŭx)

Etymology

According to Frisk an inherited Indo-European word for “throat, gorge”, cognate to Latin frūmen and Old Armenian երբուծ (erbuc), both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to use, enjoy”), but phonetically this is somewhat problematic as the Greek form requires laryngeal metathesis to *bʰr̥Hug-, turning the root disyllabic, for unknown reasons. Alternatively, it could be related to φᾰ́ρᾰγξ (phắrănx, “ravine, cleft, chasm, gully, abyss”) or φᾶρος (phâros, “cloth, cloak”), also of disputed origin.

Beekes pointed out that the prenasalized suffix -ῠγγ- (or -ῠγ-) argues for a Pre-Greek origin. Compare λᾰ́ρῠγξ (lắrŭnx).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pʰá.ryŋks/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpʰa.ryŋks/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɸa.ryŋks/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.ryŋks/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.riŋks/

Noun

φᾰ́ρῠγξ • (phắrŭnx) f or m (genitive φᾰ́ρῠγος or φᾰ́ρῠγγος); third declension

throat, windpipe, esophagus, pharynx
(zootomy) dewlap of a bull
(in the plural, pathology) diseases of the throat

Usage notes

Primarily feminine, rarely masculine.

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ, ἡ φᾰ́ρῠγξ; τοῦ, τῆς φᾰ́ρῠγος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ φᾰ́ρῠγξ ho, hē phắrŭnx	τὼ φᾰ́ρῠγε tṑ phắrŭge	οἱ, αἱ φᾰ́ρῠγες hoi, hai phắrŭges
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς φᾰ́ρῠγος toû, tês phắrŭgos	τοῖν φᾰρῠ́γοιν toîn phărŭ́goin	τῶν φᾰρῠ́γων tôn phărŭ́gōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ φᾰ́ρῠγῐ tōî, tēî phắrŭgĭ	τοῖν φᾰρῠ́γοιν toîn phărŭ́goin	τοῖς, ταῖς φᾰ́ρῠξῐ / φᾰ́ρῠξῐν toîs, taîs phắrŭxĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν φᾰ́ρῠγᾰ tòn, tḕn phắrŭgă	τὼ φᾰ́ρῠγε tṑ phắrŭge	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς φᾰ́ρῠγᾰς toùs, tā̀s phắrŭgăs
Vocative	φᾰ́ρῠγξ phắrŭnx	φᾰ́ρῠγε phắrŭge	φᾰ́ρῠγες phắrŭges
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of ὁ, ἡ φᾰ́ρῠγξ; τοῦ, τῆς φᾰ́ρῠγγος (later Greek, Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ φᾰ́ρῠγξ ho, hē phắrŭnx	τὼ φᾰ́ρῠγγε tṑ phắrŭnge	οἱ, αἱ φᾰ́ρῠγγες hoi, hai phắrŭnges
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς φᾰ́ρῠγγος toû, tês phắrŭngos	τοῖν φᾰρῠ́γγοιν toîn phărŭ́ngoin	τῶν φᾰρῠ́γγων tôn phărŭ́ngōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ φᾰ́ρῠγγῐ tōî, tēî phắrŭngĭ	τοῖν φᾰρῠ́γγοιν toîn phărŭ́ngoin	τοῖς, ταῖς φᾰ́ρῠγξῐ / φᾰ́ρῠγξῐν toîs, taîs phắrŭnxĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν φᾰ́ρῠγγᾰ tòn, tḕn phắrŭngă	τὼ φᾰ́ρῠγγε tṑ phắrŭnge	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς φᾰ́ρῠγγᾰς toùs, tā̀s phắrŭngăs
Vocative	φᾰ́ρῠγξ phắrŭnx	φᾰ́ρῠγγε phắrŭnge	φᾰ́ρῠγγες phắrŭnges
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

Greek: φάρυγγας (fáryngas)
→ New Latin: pharynx
- → English: pharynx
→ Italian: faringe

References

“φάρυγξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press

“φάρυγξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“φάρυγξ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- gorge idem, page 367.
- gullet idem, page 379.
- throat idem, page 870.
φάρυγξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
Frisk, Hjalmar (1970) “φάρυγξ”, in Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, page 995
Lidén, Evald (1937) “Wortgeschichtliches”, in L. Hjelmslev, C. Höeg, Ch. Møller, Ad. Stender-Petersen, editors, Mélanges linguistiques offerts à M. Holger Pedersen à l’occasion de son soixante-dixième anniversaire, 7 avril 1937 (Acta Jutlandica: Aarsskrift for Aarhus Universitet; IX1) (in German), København: Levin & Munksgaard, page 92