sax

See also: SAX, and Sax.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sæks/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Homophones: sacks, Sacks
• Rhymes: -æks

Etymology 1

From Middle English sax, sex, from Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”), from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of zax.

Noun

sax (plural saxes)

1. A slate-cutter’s hammer; slate-ax.
2. (obsolete) A knife or sword; a dagger about 50 cm (20 inches) in length.

Related terms

• Essex
• Middlesex
• saw
• saxie
• Saxon
• seax
• Sussex
• Wessex

 

Verb

sax (third-person singular simple present saxes, present participle saxing, simple past and past participle saxed)

1. (transitive, British dialectal) To cut or slash with a sharp instrument; incise; scarify.

Etymology 2

Clipping of saxophone. Distantly related to etymology 1 above, because the “Sax” surname is a cognate.

Noun

sax (plural saxes)

1. Clipping of saxophone.

Anagrams

• ASX, XAS

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Aleut

Noun

sax

1. bird skin coat

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɑks/
• Hyphenation: sax
• Rhymes: -ɑks
• Homophone: Sax

Etymology 1

Borrowed, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). The word also existed in the sixteenth century, but became obsolete and was borrowed again.

Noun

sax c (plural saxen, diminutive saxje n)

1. sax, short sword, dagger

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English sax or less probably a native formation from saxofoon.

Noun

sax m (plural saxen, diminutive saxje n)

1. (informal) sax, saxophone

   Synonym: saxofoon

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• sexe, sex, sæx, seax

Etymology

From Old English seax, from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saks/
• Rhymes: -aks

Noun

sax (plural saxes)

1. a knife (tool)
2. a knife (weapon)

Descendants

• English: sax; zax
• Scots: saks; sax (verb) (through confluence with Norse form)

References

• “sax, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-24.

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Northern Kurdish

Adjective

sax

1. alive
2. healthy
3. whole

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Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“dagger, knife”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”).

Noun

sax n (genitive sax, plural sǫx)

1. a oneedged sword, a backsword
2. (plural only) shears

Declension

  Declension of sax (strong a-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	sax	saxit	sǫx	sǫxin
accusative	sax	saxit	sǫx	sǫxin
dative	saxi	saxinu	sǫxum	sǫxunum
genitive	sax	saxins	saxa	saxanna

Related terms

• saxar m pl (“Saxons”)

Derived terms

• saxa (“to cut with a 'sax'”)
• saxknífr m (“dagger, dirk”)
• saxoddr m (“the point of a 'sax”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: sax n
• Faroese: saksur m
• Norwegian Nynorsk: saks f
• Norwegian Bokmål: saks m or f
• Swedish: sax c
• Danish: saks c

References

“sax”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

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Scots

Etymology

From Middle English sex, byform of six.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saks/

Numeral

cardinal number

6	Previous:	five
	Next:	seiven

sax

1. six

Related terms

• saxt (“sixth”)

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse sǫx (plural of sax), from Proto-Germanic *sahsą, from Proto-Indo-European *sek-.

Pronunciation

• audio:

  (file)

Noun

sax c

1. a pair of scissors; shears
2. short of saxofon
3. a trap for animals

Declension

Declension of sax

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	sax	sax
	definite	saxen	saxens
plural	indefinite	saxar	saxars
	definite	saxarna	saxarnas

Related terms

• altsax
• björnsax
• bultsax
• fårsax
• häcksax
• kökssax
• ljussax
• nagelsax
• plåtsax
• rävsax
• saxa
• saxfiske
• saxning
• saxnäbb
• saxsektion
• saxskänkel
• saxskär
• saxsprint
• sysax
• tenorsax
• trädgårdssax
• ullsax

References

• sax in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)