ὄρυξ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

A back-formation related to ὀρύσσω (orússō, “I dig, scrape”).

The sense of oryx is likely a substrate loanword accreted by folk-etymological analogy with the animal's pointed horns.[1]

Pronunciation

 

Noun

ὄρυξ • (órux) m (genitive ὄρῠγος); third declension

  1. a pickaxe or other sharp iron digging tool
  2. an oryx
  3. a kind of whale, perhaps a narwhal

Declension

Third declension of ὁ ὄρῠξ; τοῦ ὄρῠγος (Attic)
Case / # Singular Dual Plural
Nominative ὁ ὄρῠξ
ho órŭx 		τὼ ὄρῠγε
tṑ órŭge 		οἱ ὄρῠγες
hoi órŭges
Genitive τοῦ ὄρῠγος
toû órŭgos 		τοῖν ὀρῠ́γοιν
toîn orŭ́goin 		τῶν ὀρῠ́γων
tôn orŭ́gōn
Dative τῷ ὄρῠγῐ
tōî órŭgĭ 		τοῖν ὀρῠ́γοιν
toîn orŭ́goin 		τοῖς ὄρῠξῐ / ὄρῠξῐν
toîs órŭxĭ(n)
Accusative τὸν ὄρῠγᾰ
tòn órŭgă 		τὼ ὄρῠγε
tṑ órŭge 		τοὺς ὄρῠγᾰς
toùs órŭgăs
Vocative ὄρῠξ
órŭx 		ὄρῠγε
órŭge 		ὄρῠγες
órŭges
Notes:
  • This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

  • → Greek: όρυξ (óryx)
  • → Latin: oryx

References

  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ὀρύσσω (> DER > 1. back-formation ὄρυξ, -υγος)”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1113

Further reading

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