μύξα

Ancient Greek

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *mew-k- (“slip, slime”). Cognates include μύσσομαι (mússomai, “to blow the nose”), Latin mucus, Old Norse mjúkr (“soft, meek”), Latvian mulks (“marshy”). The traditionally compared μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”) is likely not related.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mýk.sa/ → /ˈmyk.sa/ → /ˈmik.sa/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mýk.sa/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmyk.sa/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmyk.sa/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmyk.sa/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmik.sa/

Noun

μῠ́ξᾰ • (mŭ́xă) f (genitive μῠ́ξης); first declension

1. mucus, discharge from the nose

   Synonyms: βλέννα (blénna), κόρυζα (kóruza), λέμφος (lémphos)

2. slime of certain fish and snails

Inflection

First declension of ἡ μῠ́ξᾰ; τῆς μῠ́ξης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ μῠ́ξᾰ hē mŭ́xă	τὼ μῠ́ξᾱ tṑ mŭ́xā	αἱ μῠ́ξαι hai mŭ́xai
Genitive	τῆς μῠ́ξης tês mŭ́xēs	τοῖν μῠ́ξαιν toîn mŭ́xain	τῶν μῠξῶν tôn mŭxôn
Dative	τῇ μῠ́ξῃ têi mŭ́xēi	τοῖν μῠ́ξαιν toîn mŭ́xain	ταῖς μῠ́ξαις taîs mŭ́xais
Accusative	τὴν μῠ́ξᾰν tḕn mŭ́xăn	τὼ μῠ́ξᾱ tṑ mŭ́xā	τᾱ̀ς μῠ́ξᾱς tā̀s mŭ́xās
Vocative	μῠ́ξᾰ mŭ́xă	μῠ́ξᾱ mŭ́xā	μῠ́ξαι mŭ́xai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• μυκτήρ (muktḗr)
• μῠξᾰ́ζω (mŭxắzō)
• μῠξᾰ́ρῐον (mŭxắrĭon)
• μῠξῖνος (mŭxînos)
• μῠξοποιός (mŭxopoiós)
• μῠξόρροος (mŭxórrhoos)
• μῠξώδης (mŭxṓdēs)
• μῠ́ξων (mŭ́xōn)
• μῠξωτῆρες (mŭxōtêres)

Etymology 2

The origin is unknown. Compare μυσκλον (musklon, “sebesten”), Armenian մամուխ (mamux, “sloe”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mýk.sa/ → /ˈmyk.sa/ → /ˈmik.sa/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mýk.sa/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmyk.sa/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmyk.sa/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmyk.sa/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmik.sa/

Noun

μῠ́ξᾰ • (mŭ́xă) n pl (genitive μῠ́ξων); second declension

1. sebesten (Cordia myxa)

Declension

Second declension of τᾰ̀ μῠ́ξᾰ; τῶν μῠ́ξων (Attic)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	τᾰ̀ μῠ́ξᾰ tằ mŭ́xă
Genitive	τῶν μῠ́ξων tôn mŭ́xōn
Dative	τοῖς μῠ́ξοις toîs mŭ́xois
Accusative	τᾰ̀ μῠ́ξᾰ tằ mŭ́xă
Vocative	μῠ́ξᾰ mŭ́xă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Latin: myxa

Further reading

• “μύξα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μύξα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• μύξα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bläsing, Uwe (2019) “Die armenischen Pflanzennamen in Peter Simon Pallas’ Flora Rossica. Eine Studie zu Etymologie und sprachlicher Interaktion”, in U. Bläsing, J. Dum-Tragut, T.M. van Lint, editors, Armenian, Hittite, and Indo-European Studies: A Commemoration Volume for Jos J.S. Weitenberg (Hebrew University Armenian Studies; 15) (in German), Leuven: Peeters, pages 13–17
• μύξα, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μύξα (múxa, “mucus”), which shares an origin with μύκης (múkēs, “fungus, mushroom”), from Proto-Indo-European *mew-k- (“slip, slime”). Cognates include Latin mucus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmiksa/
• Hyphenation: μύ‧ξα

Noun

μύξα • (mýxa) f (plural μύξες)

1. (colloquial, familiar) snot, booger, bogey (nasal mucus)

   Σταματά να τρως τις μύξες σου.

   Stamatá na tros tis mýxes sou.

   Stop eating your snot.

2. (colloquial, humorous, figuratively) snot, slob (any slovenly person who causes disgust)

   Μην τρως το φαΐ που έφτιαξε αυτή η μύξα.

   Min tros to faḯ pou éftiaxe aftí i mýxa.

   Don't eat the food that slob made you.

Declension

Declension of μύξα

	singular	plural
nominative	μύξα (mýxa)	μύξες (mýxes)
genitive	μύξας (mýxas)	μυξών (myxón)
accusative	μύξα (mýxa)	μύξες (mýxes)
vocative	μύξα (mýxa)	μύξες (mýxes)

Synonyms

• φλέγμα n (flégma) (official term)