phoenix Latin · revision 7577

16 Oct 2026, 14:06 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=Ovid|origins=grc φοῖνιξ}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈpʰoe̯.niːks]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfɛː.niks]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''phoenīx''' ''f'' (genitive phoenīcis); third declension^(Wiktionary)
+ The OLD and Lewis and Short treat it as masculine, and Ovid has the Greek accusative ''phoenīca''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|grc|φοῖνιξ|tr=phoînix|t=phoenix; date palm]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) The TLL reports a derivation of the bird's name from Egyptian, and Köbler calls the further origin unknown.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010) Isidore says it is named for its purple colour, or because it is unique, the Arabs calling a single thing ⟨phoenīx⟩.^(Isidore)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The OLD's earliest citation is from Ovid, of the bird.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Ovid 43 BC–18 AD.^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant the fabled phoenix of Arabia, said to live five hundred years and to rise again from its ashes, as in Ovid, Seneca, Pliny the Elder and Tacitus.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Pliny the Elder it also meant the date palm and a south-south-east wind.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ British Medieval Latin used it of regeneration and uniqueness, and of women of unique nobility such as the Virgin.^(DMLBS) Through Medieval Latin ''phenix'' it gave Old English ''fenix'', whence [[en|phoenix]].^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of the bird.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of the bird.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of the bird and of the date palm.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * Old English – ''fenix'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # The [[m|en|phoenix]].^(OLD 2012)
+ # The [[m|en|date palm]].^(OLD 2012)
+ # A south-south-east wind.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[Phoenīcē]]
+ * [[en|phoenix]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''Phoenīx'' is also a Phoenician, and the name of Achilles' companion, son of Amyntor.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}