taxus

See also: Taxus

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈtak.sus/, [ˈt̪äks̠ʊs̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈtak.sus/, [ˈt̪äksus]

Etymology 1

A loanword of Scythian origin, from Proto-Iranian *taxša, from Proto-Indo-European *tekʷ- (“to flee, run”), as the fruit was considered poisonous. Also compare modern Persian ‎ (taxš, “crossbow”).(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Noun

taxus f (genitive taxī); second declension

A yew (tree).
(poetic) A javelin made of the wood of the yew tree.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	taxus	taxī
Genitive	taxī	taxōrum
Dative	taxō	taxīs
Accusative	taxum	taxōs
Ablative	taxō	taxīs
Vocative	taxe	taxī

Derived terms

taxeus
taxicus

Descendants

Asturian: texu
Catalan: teix
Esperanto: taksuso
French: taxacées
Galician: teixo
Ido: taxuso
Italian: tasso
Portuguese: teixo
Spanish: tejo
Translingual: Taxus
Venetian: taso

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *þahsuz (“badger”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *teḱ- (“construct”) after the badger's construction of its setts. However see also Gaulish taksos (Delamarre, 2003).

Alternative forms

taxō

Noun

taxus m (genitive taxī); second declension

(Late Latin) badger

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	taxus	taxī
Genitive	taxī	taxōrum
Dative	taxō	taxīs
Accusative	taxum	taxōs
Ablative	taxō	taxīs
Vocative	taxe	taxī

Descendants

References

“taxus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“taxus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
taxus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
taxus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
“taxus”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.