Etymologically
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gryps

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɡryːps][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɡrips][1]

Forms

grȳps m (genitive grȳpis or grȳpos or grȳphis or grȳphos); third declension[1] A second-declension form grȳpus, grȳpī is also found, in Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder.[2][3] Apuleius has the spelling gripes;[2] the forms with gryph- are late.[4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek γρύψ (grúps, “griffin”).[2][6][1][3] The further origin of the Greek word is unclear.[7] Etymonline explains it as literally “curved, hook-nosed” and reports Klein's suggestion of a Semitic source.[8] Köbler considers a source in Akkadian or in Proto-Indo-European *gerb- (“to curl, bend”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Virgil (70–19 BC) has it in the Eclogues, where griffins mating with horses stand for the impossible.[3][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The word named the griffin, a fabled beast with an eagle's head and wings and a lion's body.[2][9] Pliny the Elder held the eared griffins with hooked beaks, said to live in Scythia, to be fables.[10] Claudian has griffins draw the chariot of Phoebus.[3] The Vulgate uses it for a bird of prey, probably the vulture.[3]

In Medieval Latin it also named a griffin as a decoration or on a seal, and in England the Chamber Seal called the Griffon.[9] The English word comes from Old French grifon, from the Late Latin form gryphus.[8]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses griffins in an image of the impossible.[3][5][7]
  • 43/44 AD – Pomponius Mela has the form grypus.[3][7]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder calls griffins fabulous.[10][7]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for a bird of prey.[3][7]
  • c. 1200 – English griffin appears as a surname.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A griffin, a fabled beast with an eagle's head and wings and a lion's body.[2][10][9]
  2. (Late Latin) A bird of prey, probably the vulture.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A griffin as a decoration or on a seal.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press