Where does “Phoenix” come from?
Phoenix derives from Latin phoenix, from Ancient Greek φοῖνιξ, from Egyptian bnw, a mythical bird associated with the sun and rebirth.
Ancestry of “Phoenix”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | fenix | phoenix |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | phenix | — |
| 3 | Latin | phoenīx | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Φοῖνιξ | Phoenician; Carthaginian |
| 5 | Mycenaean Greek | 𐀡𐀛𐀑𐀍 | — |
| 6 | Egyptian | fnḫw | a people in Canaan or Syria, perhaps originally... |
| 7 | Egyptian | fnḫ | carpenter, woodcutter |