Lynx (was Re: Uralic and IE)

[Robert Whiting]

On Mon, 29 Mar 1999, Miguel Carrasquer Vidal wrote:

>"Glen Gordon" <glengordon01 at hotmail.com> wrote:

>>Hypotheses built on hypotheses. There is no **-(n)k in IE.

>Not sure.  There is in Greek (lynx).

Just out of curiosity, is there anything particular about 'lynx'
that sets it apart from the numerous other words for animals and
birds in Greek* that end with /x/, so that one might think that the
final consonant cluster is ancient rather than being a secondary
formation using a classificatory marker?

* e.g.:
glaux "owl"
kokkux "cuckoo"
korax "crow"
ortux "quail"
aix "goat"
alopex "fox"
hyrax "shrew mouse"
bombux "silkworm"
murex "murex"
and even phoenix "(a mythical bird)"

Bob Whiting
whiting at cc.helsinki.fi