syrinx

See also: Syrinx

English

A schematic drawing of a syrinx (bird voice organ)

Etymology

From Latin sȳrinx, from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (sûrinx, “pipe, tube, channel, fistula”). Doublet of syringe.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɹɪŋks/
Audio (Southern England) (file)

Noun

syrinx (plural syrinxes or syringes)

A set of panpipes.
- 1982, John Fowles, Mantissa:
  Actually, to cut a long story short, he began...well, playing with a rather different sort of pipe. Or syrinx, as we called it. He obviously thought he was alone.
- 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 247:
  Inside, somebody was playing a duet on syrinx and lyre.
A narrow channel cut in rock, especially in ancient Egyptian tombs.
(ornithology, zootomy) The voice organ in birds.
- 1999, Irene M. Pepperberg, The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots, 2002, page 293,
  The role of the syrinx in psittacine sound production is still under examination, and probably differs from that of songbirds.
- 2007, Gisela Kaplan, Tawny Frogmouth, page 121,
  The primary sound-producing organ in a bird is the syrinx and the secondary system aiding sound production consists of the larynx, mouth, tongue and laryngeal muscles.
- 2010, Peter Simmons, David Young, Nerve Cells and Animal Behaviour, 3rd Edition, page 247,
  The organ responsible for producing sounds during song is the syrinx, located where the trachea joins the bronchi of the two lungs (Fig. 9.14).
(medicine) Any of several tuboid structures, especially a rare, fluid-filled neuroglial cavity within the spinal cord or in the brain stem.

Derived terms

syringo-

Related terms

syringomyelia
syringobulbia

Translations

panpipes — see panpipes

narrow channel cut in rock

Finnish: ura (fi)

ornithology: voice organ in birds

Afrikaans: sirinks
Chinese:
Mandarin: 鳴管／鸣管 (zh) (míngguǎn)
Dutch: syrinx (nl) f
Finnish: äänielin (fi)
Hungarian: alsó gégefő
Japanese: 鳴管 (めいかん, meikan)
Korean: 명관(鳴管) (ko) (myeonggwan)
Spanish: siringe (es) f
Vietnamese: minh quản (鳴管)

medicine: fluid-filled neuroglial cavity

Bulgarian: фистула (bg) f (fistula)
Dutch: syrinx (nl) f
Finnish: ontelo (fi)

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately grom Latin sȳrinx, from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (sûrinx, “pipe, tube, channel, fistula”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /siː.rɪŋks/
Hyphenation: sy‧rinx

Noun

syrinx f (plural syrinxen or syringes)

(ornithology) syrinx (voice organ in birds)
(medicine) syrinx (fluid-filled neuroglial cavity)

Finnish

Etymology

From Latin sȳrinx, from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (sûrinx, “pipe, tube, channel, fistula”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈsyrinks/, [ˈs̠yriŋks̠]
Rhymes: -yrinks
Syllabification^(key): sy‧rinx

Noun

syrinx

(rare) Alternative spelling of syrinks

Declension

Inflection of syrinx (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		syrinx	syrinxit
genitive		syrinxin	syrinxien
partitive		syrinxiä	syrinxejä
illative		syrinxiin	syrinxeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		syrinx	syrinxit
accusative	nom.	syrinx	syrinxit
accusative	gen.	syrinxin	syrinxit
genitive		syrinxin	syrinxien
partitive		syrinxiä	syrinxejä
inessive		syrinxissä	syrinxeissä
elative		syrinxistä	syrinxeistä
illative		syrinxiin	syrinxeihin
adessive		syrinxillä	syrinxeillä
ablative		syrinxiltä	syrinxeiltä
allative		syrinxille	syrinxeille
essive		syrinxinä	syrinxeinä
translative		syrinxiksi	syrinxeiksi
instructive		—	syrinxein
abessive		syrinxittä	syrinxeittä
comitative		—	syrinxeineen

Possessive forms of syrinx (type risti)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	syrinxini	syrinximme
2nd person	syrinxisi	syrinxinne
3rd person	syrinxinsä

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek σῦρῐγξ (sûrinx).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈsyː.rinks/, [ˈs̠yːrɪŋks̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.rinks/, [ˈsiːriŋks]
Homophone: Sȳrinx

Noun

sȳrinx f (genitive sȳringos); third declension

reed, reed flute, reed pipe, pan flute, panpipe

Declension

Third-declension noun (Greek-type, normal variant).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	sȳrinx	sȳringes
Genitive	sȳringos	sȳringum
Dative	sȳringī	sȳringibus
Accusative	sȳringa	sȳringas
Ablative	sȳringe	sȳringibus
Vocative	sȳrinx	sȳringes

Related terms

sȳringa
sȳringātus agnus
sȳringēs
sȳringia
sȳringiānus
sȳringiās
sȳringiō
sȳringītis
sȳringnātus
sȳringotomium
Sȳrinx

Descendants

Catalan: xeringa, → siringa
French: seringue
- → English: syringe
Italian: siringa
Portuguese: siringe, siringa, seringa
Spanish: siringe
Translingual: Syringa

References

1 sȳrinx in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette: “1,535/1”
“syrinx”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
“syrinx”, in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
“syrinx”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin