Etymograph

English

carnyx

Carnyx comes from Byzantine Greek κάρνυξ, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-root as named
  2. Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453κάρνυξkárnux
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarnyx
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2026same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-root as named
  2. Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453κάρνυξkárnux
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarnyx
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2026same form

Earliest quotation: 2026, Esther Addley, ‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may hav: “A number of Greek and Roman writers described warrior…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-

cheer, horn, hart, cerebral, crater, grail, migraine, procrastinate, corny, cornea, cerebellum, cranium, keratin, cornet, carotid, cairn, cerebrum, rother, 51 more

Today it means

noun A bronze wind instrument used by Iron Age Celts (c. 200 B.C.E. – 200 C.E.) as a type of battle trumpet; held vertically when played, it was shaped like an elongated S with a mouthpiece at the lower end and a bell (often resembling an animal with an open mouth) at the upper end.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- / carnyx

Shirt and support for this word