English
ilinx
Ilinx comes from Ancient Greek ἶλιγξ ‘whirlpool’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἶλιγξîlinx‘whirlpool’
- Englishearliest quotation 1969ilinx
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἶλιγξîlinx‘whirlpool’
- Englishearliest quotation 1969ilinx
Earliest quotation: 1969, -, Roscoe Conkling Brown: “As illustrations he provides sports for agon, lotteries for…”
The story
Via French from Ancient Greek ἶλιγξ (îlinx, “whirlpool; dizziness”), coined by French sociologist Roger Caillois in 1958.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn, wind’
well, walk, wall, volume, revolution, evolution, valve, involve, vault, evolve, revolt, vulgar, waltz, convoluted, helix, divulge, vagrant, vulva, wale, voluminous, gauche, convolution, vulgate, voluble, valvular, involution, valise, ilium, 75 more
through Ancient Greek εἴλω ‘to roll up, pack close’
Today it means
noun A form of play that creates a temporary disruption of perception, for example by inducing vertigo, dizziness, disorientation, or frenzy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ἶλιγξ / ilinx