Talk:φοῖνιξ

I would like to add my contribution to this page.

φοῖνιξ (phoîniks) was an esonym given by the Greeks to the Canaanites. The sense of the name is, therefore, to be searched in PIE-based languages, not in the semitic ones.

Common belief is that the Greeks gave the Canaanites this name due to the fact that the principal product of the Canaanites was Tyrian purple, which is produced by crushing the shells of a snail called Murex. In Sanskrit, a snail-shell is called:

भूनाग 	bhūnāga 	m. kind of snail or snail-shell

which literally means bhū (earth) + nāga (serpent).

(SKT) bhūnāga -> (GRK) phoîniks (φοῖνιξ), phoinikè (Φοινίκη) -> (LAT) phoenix, phoenicus

The long u in bhūnāga has been substituted by the diphthong oi with the same length, and bh has been substituted, as usual, with ph.

In fact, Sanskrit bhū (earth) comes from PIE *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”). Cognates include Ancient Greek φύω (phúō).

Cognate of (SKT) nāga is, with the specific semantic of "snail", German Schnecke, derived from Proto-Germanic *snakô = serpent, snake. As it is evident, english "snake" and German "Schnecke" are really similar, but the semantic is slightly different (serpent vs snail). Both come from the same PIE ancestor from which also Sanskrit nāga comes. Also to be noted is the transformation of the "g" in nāga to the "k" in both snake and Schnecke, making it more probable the transformation from bhūnāga to phoiniks.

It would be really nice to receive a confirmation of this theory from some linguist.

--- Roberto


 * The current theory is that φοῖνιξ (the dye) comes from φοινός, while Φοῖνιξ (the exonym) is borrowed ultimately from Egyptian, and not actually from φοῖνιξ. This connection you are proposing seems, moreover, very doubtful. I would expect bhūnāga to become something more like φύναγα, myself. (Note also that the g~k connection is a result of Grimm's law which would not apply outside of Germanic.) ObsequiousNewt (εἴρηκα|πεποίηκα) 23:40, 3 May 2015 (UTC)