λοξός

Forms

λοξός (loxós) m (feminine λοξή, neuter λοξόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2][3] It has the suffix -σός (-sós) of several adjectives with a similar meaning, such as γαυσός (gausós, “crooked”), καμψός (kampsós), φοξός (phoxós) and ῥυσός (rhusós).^[2][3] A connection with λέχριος (lékhrios, “slanting”) seems probable, but no reconstruction can be made, and its o points to a noun as the base.^[2][3] Words for the elbow such as Lithuanian alkúnė (“elbow”) begin with a vowel and should be kept apart, as Beekes holds,^[2] and Chantraine also finds the comparison doubtful.^[2][3] Celticists relate it to Proto-Celtic *loskos (“crippled”), and Pokorny derives it from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- (“to bow”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tyrtaeus, in the 7th century BC, uses it of a neck turned aside: Zeus has not yet turned his neck away, that is, withdrawn his favour.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Theognis a slave holding his neck aslant is a picture of dishonesty, and Solon and Anacreon speak of looking “aslant” at someone from suspicion, anger or disdain.^[4][5] From the oracular god's ambiguous answers Apollo was called Λοξίας (Loxías), and the word itself came to mean “ambiguous”.^[3][2]

In science it became a technical term: Aristotle calls the ecliptic the oblique circle, and the movement of the stars oblique; the tacticians speak of an oblique phalanx, with one wing in advance of the other, and Galen of the oblique abdominal muscles.^[4][5]

The word lives on in Modern Greek λοξός (loxós), “slanting”, and, figuratively, “eccentric, odd”; from it come λόξα (lóxa, “craze, eccentricity”) and λοξοδρομώ (loxodromó).^[7][8][6]

Timeline

• 7th century BC – Tyrtaeus uses it of a neck turned aside.^[4][6][9]
• 6th century BC – Theognis uses it of a slave's slanting neck, as a sign of dishonesty.^[4][5][9]
• 5th century BC – Hippocratic writers use it of oblique bandaging.^[4][10][9]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle calls the ecliptic the oblique circle.^[4][5][9]
• 3rd century BC – Apollonius of Rhodes uses it of sidelong glances.^[4][5][9]
• Modern Greek – It survives as Modern Greek λοξός (loxós), also meaning “eccentric”.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Slanting, oblique, crosswise.^[4][5]
2. Of the neck, turned aside; of looks, sidelong, askance, from anger, disdain or shyness.^[4][5]
3. (figurative) Mistrustful; ambiguous.^[4][2]
4. (astronomy) Of the sun's course, oblique, on the ecliptic.^[5][4]
5. (military) Of a phalanx, deployed at an angle.^[5][4]
6. Of a snake, coiled.^[5]

Word family

• λόξωσις (lóxōsis)
• λοξόω (loxóō)
• λοξότης (loxótēs)

Related words

• λέχριος (lékhrios)
• Λοξίας (Loxías)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
3. ^ a b c d e Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
9. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
10. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux