κρέξ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

An onomatopoeic origin is quite possible. According to Beekes, perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root common to Russian кре́чет (kréčet, “gyrfalcon”), Irish cearc (“hen”) and Old Prussian kerko (“diver, loon”). The word has been compared with κερκάς (kerkás, “crake”), κερκιθαλίς (kerkithalís, “stork”) and κέρκνος (kérknos, “hawk or cock”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kréks/ → /kreks/ → /kreks/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kréks/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /kreks/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /kreks/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /kreks/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /kreks/

Noun

κρέξ • (kréx) f (genitive κρεκός); third declension

1. long-legged bird, perhaps:
   1. corncrake (Crex crex)
   2. ruff (Philomachus pugnax)
2. name of ill omen to the newly married
3. noisy braggart

Declension

Third declension of ἡ κρέξ; τῆς κρεκός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ κρέξ hē kréx	τὼ κρέκε tṑ kréke	αἱ κρέκες hai krékes
Genitive	τῆς κρεκός tês krekós	τοῖν κρεκοῖν toîn krekoîn	τῶν κρεκῶν tôn krekôn
Dative	τῇ κρεκῐ́ têi krekí	τοῖν κρεκοῖν toîn krekoîn	ταῖς κρεξῐ́ / κρεξῐ́ν taîs krexí(n)
Accusative	τὴν κρέκᾰ tḕn kréka	τὼ κρέκε tṑ kréke	τᾱ̀ς κρέκᾰς tā̀s krékas
Vocative	κρέξ kréx	κρέκε kréke	κρέκες krékes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Translingual: Crex

Further reading

• “κρέξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• κρέξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN