Etymologically
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camox

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈka.moːks][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkaː.moks][1]

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]

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