στρίξ

Forms

στρῐ́ξ (stríx) f (genitive στρῐγός); third declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because of the nasal that some forms show (the variant στρίγξ (strínx) and the accusative of the popular song) and others lack, a variation typical of Pre-Greek words.^[2][1] It is formed like other bird names in -ξ, such as γλαῦξ (glaûx, “owl”) and σκώψ (skṓps, “scops owl”).^[2][3]

It is the same word as Latin strix (“screech owl”) (from Plautus on), apart from the nasal, and may be a loan into Latin.^[2][3] The usual view takes both as imitative of the bird's cry, related to τρίζω (trízō, “to squeak”) and Latin strīdeō (“to hiss, to screech”), and Pokorny lists them under Proto-Indo-European *(s)treig- (“to hiss”).^[3][4][1] Thieme instead linked it with Latin stringō, as “the one that brushes past”.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The accusative στρίγγα occurs in a popular song (Carmina Popularia 26) that asks to drive the owl, the nameless bird, away from the people.^[5][6] The nominative is cited only by the 9th-century grammarian Theognostus, who also gives a form στλίξ (stlíx).^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

In Greek the word stayed marginal: the Scarborough database rates its attestation as very low, and Hesychius has a related στρίγλος, a night bird, which some explained as the “night raven”.^[7][2]

Latin strix has descendants such as Sardinian strea, Romanian striga and Italian strega, and English strigine and the genus name Strix are learned words made from it.^[1]

Timeline

• Archaic period – A popular song has the accusative στρίγγα, of an owl to be driven away.^[5][8]
• 9th century AD – Theognostus records στρίξ and the variant στλίξ.^[5][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. An owl, probably the screech owl.^[5][6][2]

Related words

• στρίγξ (strínx)
• τρίζω (trízō)
• Latin strix
• English strigine

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
5. ^ a b c d e Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
7. ^ a b Scarborough, Matthew (2025), PHILOGLOSSA: database of Pre-Greek and other non-Indo-European words in Ancient Greek, version 1.0
8. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge