See also: Murex

English

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shell of a Venus comb murex (Murex pecten)
 
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Etymology

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From Latin murex.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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murex (plural murexes or murices)

  1. Any of the genus Murex of marine gastropods.
    • 1907, Ronald M. Burrows, The Discoveries In Crete, page 25:
      The bank of crushed murex shell that Professor Bosanquet found here, and again at Palaikastro, in company with a whole mass of Kamáres pottery, shows that the men of Sidon and Tyre were not the first to practise the dying of purple.
    • 1991, John Montroll, Robert J. Lang, Origami Sea Life, page 56:
      The murexes (family Muricidae) are one of the most beautiful and sought-after families by shell collectors.

Hypernyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From Latin.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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murex m (plural murex)

  1. Murex

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Latin

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Etymology

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Uncertain. Perhaps a derivative of mūs (mouse), whence mūsculus (a saltwater mussel).[1] Alternatively, together with Ancient Greek μύαξ (múax, sea mussel) borrowed from a Mediterranean substrate language.[2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mūrex m (genitive mūricis); third declension

  1. A shellfish used as a source of the dye Tyrian purple; the purple-fish
  2. Tyrian purple, the purple dye, a purple color, made from the juice of the purple-fish
    • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 2.107:
      induerat Tyriō bis tīnctam mūrice pallam
      He had put on his mantle, twice dyed with Tyrian purple.
  3. A sharp murex shell used as a bridle bit.
  4. A pointed rock or stone.
  5. A caltrop.
  6. An iron spike.

Declension

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Third-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative mūrex mūricēs
Genitive mūricis mūricum
Dative mūricī mūricibus
Accusative mūricem mūricēs
Ablative mūrice mūricibus
Vocative mūrex mūricēs

Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “mus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 396
  2. ^ Ernout, Alfred, Meillet, Antoine (1985) “murex”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine: histoire des mots[1] (in French), 4th edition, with additions and corrections of Jacques André, Paris: Klincksieck, published 2001, pages 422–423

Further reading

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  • murex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • murex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • murex”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • Rich, Anthony (1849) “murex”, in The Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary and Greek Lexicon[2], London: Longmans, page 435
  • murex”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin