κίρκος

Greek has two words spelled κίρκος, a kind of hawk and a ring.^[1][2]

κίρκος¹ hawk

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /kír.kos/^[3]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈcir.kos/^[3]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈcir.kos/^[3]

Forms

κῐ́ρκος (kírkos) m (genitive κῐ́ρκου); second declension^[3]

Etymology

The hawk is of unknown origin.^[1][4] Frisk and the Πάπυρος dictionary suggest it may be onomatopoeic, comparing κρέξ (kréx, “corncrake”).^[4][5] Wiktionary instead derives it from Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”), and compares ka კირკიტა (ḳirḳiṭa, “kestrel”).^[3] The view that it is the same word as the “ring”, from the hawk's circling flight, is less likely according to Πάπυρος.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for a hawk in the Iliad (17.757, 22.139), and the Odyssey has the phrase ἴρηξ κίρκος, in which ἴρηξ is the general word and κίρκος the particular kind (13.87).^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It remained a poetic word: Aeschylus and Apollonius of Rhodes use it, and Aristotle lists it among hawks.^[1][2] The species cannot be identified.^[2] The Πάπυρος dictionary suggests that the name of the enchantress Κίρκη (Kírkē) may come from it.^[5] Modern zoology took it as the genus name Circus (harriers), and Circaetus for the snake eagles.^[3]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for a hawk.^[2][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it.^[2][6][7]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle lists it among hawks.^[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kind of hawk or falcon.^[2][1]

κίρκος² ring

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /kír.kos/^[3]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈcir.kos/^[3]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈcir.kos/^[3]

Forms

κῐ́ρκος (kírkos) m (genitive κῐ́ρκου); second declension^[3]

Etymology

The ring is mostly found in the form κρίκος (kríkos), and the grammarian Pollux calls κίρκος the poetic form of it.^[2] Wiktionary connects it with Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”), noting that the two senses may be of different origin.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded for a ring in a 3rd-century BC inscription from Delos.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Later writers, Polybius, Epictetus and Plutarch, use it for the Roman circus, the same as Latin circus.^[2] Wiktionary takes the Latin word as borrowed from it.^[3] A magical papyrus uses the neuter plural κίρκα for rings or binding spells.^[2]

Timeline

• 3rd century BC – An inscription from Delos uses it for a ring.^[2]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for the Roman circus.^[2][7]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for the circus.^[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A circle, ring.^[2][3]
2. The Roman circus, racecourse.^[2][3]

Related words

• Latin circus
• English circus

Usage notes

Oppian uses κίρκος for a kind of wolf, Pliny for an unknown stone, and Hesychius and Photius gloss it as “rower” and as the budding of the black poplar.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
6. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge