πίφιγξ
Ancient Greek
Alternative forms
- πίφηξ (píphēx), πίφιξ (píphix)
Etymology
Probably an onomatopoeia, and as such comparable to πιππίζω (pippízō, “to chirp”), πιπώ (pipṓ, “woodpecker”); the suffix is reminiscent of instances such as σάλπιγξ (sálpinx), πέρδιξ (pérdix), and the morphological variation between -ιγξ/-ιξ strongly points to Pre-Greek origin.
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /pí.pʰiŋks/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈpi.pʰiŋks/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈpi.ɸiŋks/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈpi.fiŋks/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈpi.fiŋks/
Noun
πῐ́φῐγξ • (píphinx) ? (indeclinable)
- unknown kind of bird
References
- πίφιγξ in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- πίφιγξ 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