sax
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sæks/
- Homophones: sacks, Sacks
- Rhymes: -æks
Etymology 1
From Middle English sax, sex, from Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”), from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Cognate with North Frisian sax (“knife, sword”), Middle Dutch sas (“knife”), Middle Low German sax (“knife”), Middle High German sahs (“a knife”), Danish saks (“a pair of scissors”), Swedish sax (“a pair of scissors”), Icelandic sax (“a short heavy sword”), Latin secō (“cut”). See also Saxon, saw.
Noun
sax (plural saxes)
- A slate-cutter's hammer; slate-ax.
- (obsolete) A knife or sword; a dagger about 20 inches in length.
Related terms
- Essex
- Middlesex
- saxie
- Saxon
- seax
- Sussex
- Wessex
- zax
Verb
sax (third-person singular simple present saxes, present participle saxing, simple past and past participle saxed)
- (transitive, Britain dialectal) To cut or slash with a sharp instrument; incise; scarify.
Etymology 2
Clipping of saxophone. Distantly related to etymology 1 above, because the “Sax” surname is a cognate.
Noun
sax (plural saxes)
- Clipping of saxophone.
Anagrams
- ASX, XAS
Aleut
Noun
sax
- bird skin coat
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑks/
- Hyphenation: sax
- Rhymes: -ɑks
- Homophone: Sax
Etymology 1
Borrowed, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). The word also existed in the sixteenth century, but became obsolete and was borrowed again.
Noun
sax c (plural saxen, diminutive saxje n)
- sax, short sword, dagger
Etymology 2
Borrowed from English sax or less probably a native formation from saxofoon.
Noun
sax m (plural saxen, diminutive saxje n)
- (informal) sax, saxophone
- Synonym: saxofoon
Kurdish
Adjective
sax (comparative {{{1}}}, superlative {{{2}}})
- alive
- healthy
- whole
Middle English
Alternative forms
- sexe, sex, sæx, seax
Etymology
From Old English seax, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /saks/
- Rhymes: -aks
Noun
sax (plural saxes or saxen)
- A knife (tool)
- A knife (weapon)
Descendants
- English: sax, zax
References
- “sax (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-24.
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“dagger, knife”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”).
Noun
sax n (genitive sax, plural sǫx)
- a oneedged sword, a backsword
- (plural only) shears
Declension
| neuter | singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | sax | saxit | sǫx | sǫxin |
| accusative | sax | saxit | sǫx | sǫxin |
| dative | saxi | saxinu | sǫxum | sǫxunum |
| genitive | sax | saxins | saxa | saxanna |
Related terms
- saxar m pl (“Saxons”)
Derived terms
- saxa (“to cut with a 'sax'”)
- saxknífr m (“dagger, dirk”)
- saxoddr m (“the point of a 'sax”)
Descendants
- Icelandic: sax n
- Faroese: saksur m
- Norwegian Nynorsk: saks f
- Norwegian Bokmål: saks m or f
- Swedish: sax c
- Danish: saks c
References
sax in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Scots
Etymology
From Middle English sex, byform of six, from Old English siex, from Proto-Germanic *sehs, from Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /saks/
Numeral
| 6 | Previous: | five |
|---|---|---|
| Next: | seiven |
sax
- six
Related terms
- saxt (“sixth”)
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse sǫx (plural of sax), from Proto-Germanic *sahsą, from Proto-Indo-European *sek-.
Pronunciation
audio (file)
Noun
sax c
- a pair of scissors; shears
- short of saxofon
- a trap for animals
Declension
| Declension of sax | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | sax | saxen | saxar | saxarna |
| Genitive | sax | saxens | saxars | saxarnas |
Related terms
- altsax
- björnsax
- bultsax
- fårsax
- häcksax
- kökssax
- ljussax
- nagelsax
- plåtsax
- rävsax
- saxa
- saxfiske
- saxning
- saxnäbb
- saxsektion
- saxskänkel
- saxskär
- saxsprint
- sysax
- tenorsax
- trädgårdssax
- ullsax
References
- sax in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)