Where does “phoenix” come from?
Phoenix comes from Old French fenix, from Latin phoenix, from Ancient Greek φοῖνιξ, ultimately from Egyptian bnw, a mythical bird.
phoenix (English): A mythological bird, said to be the only one of...
Definitions
- A mythological bird, said to be the only one of...
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 | date palm? |
| 6 | Egyptian | fnḫw | a people in Canaan or Syria, perhaps originally... |
| 7 | Egyptian | fnḫ | carpenter, woodcutter |