noun · masculine
migdilix
migdilix m
Classical[ˈmɪɡ.dɪ.lɪks]Ecclesiastical[ˈmiɡ.di.liks]
Meaning
- masculineThe meaning of this term is uncertain.
[Milphio] at hercle tē hominem et sȳcophantam et subdolum, quī hūc advēnistī nōs captātum, migdilix, bisulcī linguā quasi prōserpēns bēstia.
[Milphio] My God, [you are] a cunning swindler of a man, who came here to trick us, you migdilix, with a forked tongue like a snake.c. 194 BCE, Plautus, Poenulus 5.2.73–74 (Milphio is directing insults at Hanno the Carthaginian.)
Origins
Unknown. The first element may be from Ancient Greek μίγδα (mígda, “mixed, blended”). For the second element, compare bilix (“double-threaded”). Various 19th-century dictionaries give the spelling as Migdilybs, connecting the second element to Ancient Greek λίψ (líps) and interpreting the term as a racial epithet for a person of mixed Libyan descent, as the Carthaginians were.