σκύλαξ

See also: Σκύλαξ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain. Compare κύλλα (kúlla, “puppy (hapax)”), σκύλιον (skúlion, “dogfish”), σκύλλα (skúlla, “shark”), as well as Old Armenian ցուլ (cʻul, “bull”), Old Irish cuilén (“puppy”), Lithuanian kalė̃ (“bitch, female dog”), and Russian клей (klej). A Proto-Indo-European *(s)kol- (“animal”) is possible, but problematic. Based on the phonetic issues with connecting the similar words mentioned above, Beekes tentatively takes the word as Pre-Greek;^[1] it is possible that some, all, or none of the cognates mentioned above are taken from the same substrate continuum.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ský.laks/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsky.laks/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈscy.laks/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈscy.laks/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsci.laks/

Noun

σκῠ́λᾰξ • (skŭ́lăx) m or f (genitive σκῠ́λᾰκος); third declension

young dog, whelp, puppy
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 9.289
- 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Theogony 834
- 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.32
1. dog
  - 405 BCE, Euripides, The Bacchae 338
  - 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 375
2. (of other young animals) whelp
- 428 BCE, Euripides, Hippolytus 1277
a chain, a chain or collar for the neck
- c. 400 BCE, Plato Comicus, Greece, 5 (quoted by Julius Pollux 10.167; fragment 23 in Kock's Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta):
  λαβὼν οὖν / τὸν σκύλακα τὸν τοῦ προξένου κἄπειτα δῆσον αὐτόν.
  labṑn oûn / tòn skúlaka tòn toû proxénou kápeita dêson autón.
  [...] having then grasped the representative's chain, which would bind him later too.
- c. 117 BCE, Polybius, Histories‎^[1], 20.10.8:
  ταῦτα λέγων φέρειν ἅλυσιν ἐκέλευσε καὶ σκύλακα σιδηροῦν ἑκάστῳ περιθεῖναι περὶ τὸν τράχηλον.
  taûta légōn phérein hálusin ekéleuse kaì skúlaka sidēroûn hekástōi peritheînai perì tòn trákhēlon.
  With these words he ordered his men to bring a chain and an iron collar and put it on the neck of each of them.
(Hesychius) erotic dance? / sex position?
- [5th c. C.E., Hesychius of Alexandria, Γλώσσαι, Σ:
  σκύλαξ· σχῆμα ἀφροδισιακόν, ὡς τὸ τῶν φοινικιζόντων
  skúlax; skhêma aphrodisiakón, hōs tò tôn phoinikizóntōn
  skúlax: sexual posturing, like that of those who act the Phoenician]

Declension

Third declension of ὁ, ἡ σκῠ́λᾰξ; τοῦ, τῆς σκῠ́λᾰκος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ σκῠ́λᾰξ ho, hē skŭ́lăx	τὼ σκῠ́λᾰκε tṑ skŭ́lăke	οἱ, αἱ σκῠ́λᾰκες hoi, hai skŭ́lăkes
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς σκῠ́λᾰκος toû, tês skŭ́lăkos	τοῖν σκῠλᾰ́κοιν toîn skŭlắkoin	τῶν σκῠλᾰ́κων tôn skŭlắkōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ σκῠ́λᾰκῐ tôi, têi skŭ́lăkĭ	τοῖν σκῠλᾰ́κοιν toîn skŭlắkoin	τοῖς, ταῖς σκῠ́λᾰξῐ / σκῠ́λᾰξῐν toîs, taîs skŭ́lăxĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν σκῠ́λᾰκᾰ tòn, tḕn skŭ́lăkă	τὼ σκῠ́λᾰκε tṑ skŭ́lăke	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς σκῠ́λᾰκᾰς toùs, tā̀s skŭ́lăkăs
Vocative	σκῠ́λᾰξ skŭ́lăx	σκῠ́λᾰκε skŭ́lăke	σκῠ́λᾰκες skŭ́lăkes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

(little dog, puppy): κῠνάριον (kŭnárion), κυνίδιον (kunídion)
(young animal): σκύμνος (skúmnos)

Derived terms

Σκύλαξ (Skúlax)

Descendants

Greek: σκύλος m (skýlos, “(male) dog”)
Greek: σκύλα f (skýla, “(female) dog”)
Greek: σκυλί n (skylí, “dog”)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σκύλαξ, -ᾰκος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1361