oryx
[awr-iks, ohr-]
- a large African antelope, Oryx gazella, grayish with black markings and having long, nearly straight horns: an endangered species.
- gemsbok.
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Origin of oryx
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek óryx pickax, oryx
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for oryx
Contemporary Examples
If it is a young man, they should start with Oryx and Crake.
Historical Examples
Aristotle mentions as such the oryx or antelope of northern Africa.
Primitive Psycho-Therapy and QuackeryRobert Means Lawrence
The oryx when hunted does not, like many other antelopes, make for either water or cover.
The Young YagersMayne Reid
The fourth species of oryx is the “algazel,” (Oryx algazella).
The Young YagersMayne Reid
An interesting point occurred in the conversation about the oryx.
The Young YagersMayne Reid
Of course the oryx were also brought up to the camp to be skinned and cut up.
The Young YagersMayne Reid
oryx
- any large African antelope of the genus Oryx, typically having long straight nearly upright horns
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Word Origin
C14: via Latin from Greek orux stonemason's axe, used also of the pointed horns of an antelope
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for oryx
n.
late 14c., from Latin oryx, from Greek oryx (genitive orygos) "North African antelope with pointed horns, the digging animal," literally "pick-axe." Used in Greek and Latin bibles to render Hebrew tho, which early English Bibles misidentified as everything from a small hibernating animal to a wild bull.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper