LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

strix1

strix f (genitive strigis)

Meaning

  1. SpainfeminineA golden nugget.
    Hispānia strigēs vocat aurī parvolās māssās.Hispania calls little lumps of gold nuggets.Pliny, Natural History 33.62

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativestrixstrigēs
genitivestrigisstrigum
dativestrigīstrigibus
accusativestrigemstrigēs
ablativestrigestrigibus
vocativestrixstrigēs

strix, strĭgis (on the ĭ cf. Lachm. Lucr. II. p. 36), f., = στρίγξ [from στρίζω, τρίζω, the screecher],
I. a screech-owl, which, according to the belief of the ancients, sucked the blood of young children, Plaut. Ps. 3, 2, 31; Ov. F. 6, 133 sq.; Plin. 11, 39, 95, § 232; Tib. 1, 5, 52; Ov. M. 7, 269; Prop. 4 (5), 5, 17; 3 (4, 5), 6, 29; Petr. 134, 1; cf. Fest. p. 314, 33.
strix, ĭgis, f.,
I. a furrow, channel, groove, flute, Vitr. 3, 3 fin.: strigium circuitus, id. 4, 1 med.; 4, 3; 4, 4 (al. striae; but cf. strigatus and strigo).

Origins

Possibly from Paleo-Hispanic such as Celtiberian, from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to brush, strip, shear”) and cognate to Latin striga (“strip”).

noun · femininethird declension
strī̆x2
strī̆x f (genitive strī̆gis)
Classical[ˈstriːks]Ecclesiastical[ˈstriks]

Meaning

  1. a kind of owl, probably the screech-owl (considered a bird of ill omen)
    Near-synonyms: būbō, noctua, ulula, parra
    eī hominēs cēnās ubi coquont, cum condiunt, nōn condīmentīs condiunt, sed strīgibus, vīvīs convīvīs intestīna quae exedint.Those people, when they cook dinners, when they season them, season them not with seasonings, but with screech-owls that would eat up the living guests' guts. (This is in iambic senarii.)191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2022, act 3, scene 2, lines 30–32:
  2. broadlyan evil spirit, a vampire or a harpy who sucked the blood of children and caused nightmares

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativestrī̆xstrī̆gēs
genitivestrī̆gisstrī̆gum
dativestrī̆gīstrī̆gibus
accusativestrī̆gemstrī̆gēs
ablativestrī̆gestrī̆gibus
vocativestrī̆xstrī̆gēs

Origins

Borrowed from Ancient Greek στρίξ (stríx, “screecher”) which also gave strī̆ga (“evil spirit, nightmare; vampire; witch”), itself likely of onomatopoeic origin and related to Latin strīdō (“to screech”). Compare typologically Russian карга́ (kargá), also considered borrowed, akin to Turkish karga.

Descendants
  • Sardinianstrea
  • Romanianstriga
  • Englishstrigine
  • Italianstrige
  • Italianstrega
  • Portugueseestrige
  • Spanishestrige
  • Sicilianstrìgula
  • Esperantostrigo
  • Idostrigo

Quick answers

What does strix mean in Latin?
strix, a noun, means “A golden nugget.”.
What is the genitive of strix?
The genitive singular is strigis. strix is feminine, third declension.