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oryx

 - 4 dictionary results

o⋅ryx

  [awr-iks, ohr-]
Use oryx in a Sentence
–noun, plural o⋅ryx⋅es, (especially collectively) o⋅ryx.
1. a large African antelope, Oryx gazella, grayish with black markings and having long, nearly straight horns: an endangered species.
2. gemsbok.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L < Gk óryx pickax, oryx

gems⋅bok

  [gemz-bok]
–noun, plural -boks, (especially collectively) -bok.
a large antelope, Oryx gazella, of southern and eastern Africa, having long, straight horns and a long, tufted tail.
Also, gemsbuck.
Also called oryx.

Origin:
1770–80; < Afrik < G Gemsbock male chamois. See gems, buck 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·ryx   (ôr'ĭks, ōr'-, ŏr'-)   
n.   pl. oryx or o·ryx·es
Any of several African antelopes of the genus Oryx, including the gemsbok, having long, straight or slightly curved horns and a hump above the shoulders.

[Latin, from Greek orux, pickax, gazelle (from its sharp horns), perhaps from orussein, to dig.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

oryx 
1382, from L. oryx, from Gk. oryx (gen. orygos) "North African antelope with pointed horns, the digging animal," lit. "pick-axe." Used in Gk. and L. bibles to render Heb. tho, which early Eng. Bibles misidentified as everything from a small hibernating animal to a wild bull.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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