camox

Forms

camōx m (genitive camōcis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a word of the Alps;^[2][1] Köbler's only source for it is Polemius Silvius.^[2][1] Wiktionary takes it as borrowed from Gaulish camox, probably from an extinct language of the Alps such as Raetic or Ligurian,^[1] and Etymonline likewise suggests a pre-Latin Alpine language.^[3] Köbler places it in an Indo-European language of the Alps and refers it either to Proto-Indo-European *ḱem- (“stick, pole, horn”) or to a root of the same form meaning “hornless”;^[2][4] Pokorny calls the word difficult.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Polemius Silvius records it in the 5th century.^[1][2]

Semantic evolution

It names the chamois, the Alpine antelope.^[1][2] It survives in the Romance words for the animal, French chamois, Italian camoscio and Spanish camuza.^[3][5] Etymonline notes that Old High German gamiza and German Gemse may come from the same Alpine source, or some of them from Latin.^[3] English took chamois from French in the 1550s.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 448/449 AD – Polemius Silvius records it.^[2]
• 1550s – English borrows chamois from French.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) The chamois.^[1][2]

Related words

• English chamois

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
5. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier