Euxine

[yook-sin, -sahyn]

Origin

adjective

of or pertaining to the Black Sea.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Word Origin & History

Euxine

archaic name for the Black Sea, from L. Pontus Euxinus, from Gk. Pontos Euxenios, lit. "the hospitable sea," a euphemism for Pontos Axeinos, "the inhospitable sea." According to Room, The O.Pers. name for the sea was akhshaena, lit. "dark," probably in ref. to the sudden, dangerous storms that make the

EXPAND

sea perilous to sailors and darken its face. The Greeks took this untranslated as Pontos Axeinos, which was interpeted as the similar-sounding Gk. word axenos "inhospitable." Thus the modern Eng. name reflects the original

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Related Words

Black Sea

Euxine Sea

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Euxine

Eux·ine