• sphingine •
Pronunciation: sfin-jeen, sfin-jên • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: 1. Sphinxlike, resembling or otherwise pertaining to a sphinx or sphinxes. 2. Enigmatic, inscrutable.
Notes: Today's Good Word is good at concealing its source. This concealment results from a spelling peculiarity and a common phonetic rule. The phonetic rule is that voiced sounds (involving vibration of the vocal cords) [b, d, z, zh, j, g] become voiceless [p, t, s, sh, ch, k] before other voiceless consonants. So, [g] was replaced by [k] in the original word (sphing-s became sphink-s) . The spelling peculiarity is that [ks] is represented in English by the single letter X. Hence, this word is the adjective for sphinx.
In Play: Sphinxes were first and foremost a symbol of power: "Emperors loved sphingine statues because they represented the sort of power they perceived themselves to have." But any characteristic of sphinxes allows the figurative use of today's word: "Lil Wormser-Goode loves to test those she meets with a sphingine verbal test which, only if they pass, are allowed into the embrace of her friendship."
Word History: In Greek mythology the sphinx was represented as a winged lion with a woman's head who waylaid travelers and strangled then consumed those who failed to solve her riddle: What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? Sphinx means "strangler" in Greek, a reference to the means the Sphinx used to kill her victims. This noun is based on the verb sphingein "to squeeze, strangle", source also of sphincter "band, cord, sphincter", first used in the last sense by Galen, physician to kings and emperors, and borrowed by the Romans strictly in that sense. (Now a word to remember Wordmaster Rob Towart's long-standing contribution to our series, including today's rare but lovely Good Word.)
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