μύσταξ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• βῠ́στᾰξ (bŭ́stăx)
• μῠ́ττᾰκες (mŭ́ttăkes)

Etymology

According to Beekes, both the variants listed in the alternative forms section suggest a Pre-Greek origin. Compare Ashokan Prakrit *𑀩𑀽𑀲𑁆𑀢 (*būsta, “lip”), with descendants in Northwestern Indo-Aryan and Dardic, which may suggest Wanderwort status, if indeed related to the Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mýs.taks/ → /ˈmys.taks/ → /ˈmis.taks/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mýs.taks/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmys.taks/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmys.taks/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmys.taks/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmis.taks/

Noun

μῠ́στᾰξ • (mŭ́stăx) m (genitive μῠ́στᾰκος); third declension

1. upper lip or moustache

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ μῠ́στᾰξ; τοῦ μῠ́στᾰκος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ μῠ́στᾰξ ho mŭ́stăx	τὼ μῠ́στᾰκε tṑ mŭ́stăke	οἱ μῠ́στᾰκες hoi mŭ́stăkes
Genitive	τοῦ μῠ́στᾰκος toû mŭ́stăkos	τοῖν μῠστᾰ́κοιν toîn mŭstắkoin	τῶν μῠστᾰ́κων tôn mŭstắkōn
Dative	τῷ μῠ́στᾰκῐ tōî mŭ́stăkĭ	τοῖν μῠστᾰ́κοιν toîn mŭstắkoin	τοῖς μῠ́στᾰξῐ / μῠ́στᾰξῐν toîs mŭ́stăxĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν μῠ́στᾰκᾰ tòn mŭ́stăkă	τὼ μῠ́στᾰκε tṑ mŭ́stăke	τοὺς μῠ́στᾰκᾰς toùs mŭ́stăkăs
Vocative	μῠ́στᾰξ mŭ́stăx	μῠ́στᾰκε mŭ́stăke	μῠ́στᾰκες mŭ́stăkes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• ⇒ Byzantine Greek: μουστάκιον (moustákion) (see there for further descendants)

Borrowings:

• → Latin: mystax
• ⇒ English: mystacial
• ⇒ French: mystaciale

Further reading

• “μύσταξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• μύσταξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• μύσταξ, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011