φοῖνιξ

See also: Φοῖνιξ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The etymology surrounding all senses remains somewhat unclear. The fact that the dye came exclusively from Phoenicia assures some connection. However, it is unclear if it comes from native Greek or is a Phoenician loanword. The relationship in the sense of "mythical bird" and Egyptian bnw (“phoenix, Bennu bird”) is clear, but some have argued for a Semitic source (possibly Phoenician), perhaps related to the "dye" sense and the bird's red plumage. It has been argued both that the name of the tree derives from the bird and vice versa; it may be significant that Egyptian bnw can also mean both a mythical bird and the fruit of the date tree. Regardless of the etymology, the word traces back to the Mycenaean era, as evidenced by 𐀡𐀛𐀐 (po-ni-ke) and 𐀡𐀛𐀑𐀠 (po-ni-ki-pi) (most likely date palm). Compare Hebrew פֻּוָּ֕ה (puw·wā, “a clan's name”) & Arabic فُوَّه (fuwwah, “madder”), a plant whose root yields purple-red dye.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pʰôi̯.niks/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpʰy.niks/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɸy.niks/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈfy.niks/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈfi.niks/

Noun

φοῖνῐξ • (phoînix) m (genitive φοίνῑκος); third declension

purple or crimson
palm tree
date (the fruit of the date palm)
phoenix, the mythical bird derived from Egyptian mythology
(music) A guitar-like instrument invented by the Phoenicians

Declension

Third declension of ὁ φοῖνῐξ; τοῦ φοίνῑκος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ φοῖνῐξ ho phoînix	τὼ φοίνῑκε tṑ phoínīke	οἱ φοίνῑκες hoi phoínīkes
Genitive	τοῦ φοίνῑκος toû phoínīkos	τοῖν φοινῑ́κοιν toîn phoinī́koin	τῶν φοινῑ́κων tôn phoinī́kōn
Dative	τῷ φοίνῑκῐ tôi phoínīki	τοῖν φοινῑ́κοιν toîn phoinī́koin	τοῖς φοίνῑξῐ / φοίνῑξῐν toîs phoínīxi(n)
Accusative	τὸν φοίνῑκᾰ tòn phoínīka	τὼ φοίνῑκε tṑ phoínīke	τοὺς φοίνῑκᾰς toùs phoínīkas
Vocative	φοῖνῐξ phoînix	φοίνῑκε phoínīke	φοίνῑκες phoínīkes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

φοινῑκόπτερος (phoinīkópteros)
φοινῑ́κουρος (phoinī́kouros)
Φοινῑκοῦς (Phoinīkoûs)
φοινῑ́κῐνος (phoinī́kinos)

Descendants

→ Latin: phoenīx
→ Old Armenian: փիւնիկ (pʻiwnik), փիւնիկս (pʻiwniks), փիւնիկոս (pʻiwnikos), փիւնիքս (pʻiwnikʻs), փոնիքս (pʻonikʻs)
- → Armenian: փյունիկ (pʻyunik) (learned)
- → Old Georgian: ფუვინკაჲ (puvinḳay)
→ Old Georgian: ფჳნიქსი (pwiniksi)