strix Latin · revision 33407

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=grc στρίξ}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈstriːks], [ˈstrɪks]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈstriks]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''strī̆x''' ''f'' (genitive strī̆gis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Plautus scans the oblique cases with a long vowel, ''strīg-'', but Lewis & Short give ''strĭgis''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ Statius has the nominative plural ''strigĕs''.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|grc|στρίξ|tr=stríx|t=screecher]],^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) also [[m|grc|στρίγξ|tr=strínx]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) The OLD compares [[m|grc|τρίζω|tr=trízō]] and [[strīdeō|t=to make a shrill sound]], and Wiktionary calls the Greek word probably imitative.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Köbler compares [[ine-pro|*streig-|t=to hiss, whir]].^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It first appears in Plautus,^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) as the name of a bird of ill omen.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Romans believed that this night bird sucked the blood of small children, so it was also taken for a kind of [[m|en|vampire]] or [[m|en|harpy]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Wiktionary) Ovid tells of these birds in the Fasti, and Tibullus, Propertius, Pliny the Elder and Petronius mention them.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Festus and the grammarians Charisius and Bede discuss the word.^(Georges 1913) [[strīga|alt=Strīga]], “witch, evil spirit”, comes from the same Greek word.^(Wiktionary) It survives in Italian [[m|it|strige]].^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, the bird of ill omen.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid tells of the birds in the Fasti.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder discusses the bird.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 45–96 AD – Statius has the plural ''strigĕs''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A kind of [[m|en|owl]], probably the [[m|en|screech owl]], regarded as a bird of ill [[m|en|omen]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An evil spirit or [[m|en|vampire]] thought to suck the blood of children.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[strīga]]

+ * [[strīdeō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Pliny the Elder has a separate word ''strix'' for a small nugget of gold, which the OLD marks as doubtful;^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010) Wiktionary suggests a Paleo-Hispanic origin for it.^(Wiktionary) Vitruvius uses ''strix'' for a groove or flute in a column, where some editors read ''striae''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}