γύγης

The Ancient Greek word γύγης ‘a waterbird, perhaps ‘Eurasian bittern’’ was connected both with the Lydian ruler name Gyges (Fick 1909b:12 and Neumann 1961a:70) as well as with the Carian name element -γυγος (Neumann 1961a:70), both implying an Anatolian loanword in Greek (although none of the compilations of Anatolian words in Greek [Yakubovich 2010d:113f., 146f., Yakubovich 2013a:118–120; Sh. Hawkins 2010a:224f.; Gasbarra & Pozza 2012a:189–196, Gasbarra & Pozza 2019a:57–70; Hajnal 2014a:110f., Hajnal 2018a:2041f.; Simon 2018a] included it). The Greek etymological dictionaries, however, treat it as an onomatopoetic word without taking into account the literature proposing an Anatolian origin (GEW I:331 [“wahrscheinlich”]; DELG:239 [“probablement”]; EDG:290 [“perhaps”]; it is an inherited word according to Garnier & Sagot 2020a:180). Although formally speaking a derivation from Carian is entirely possible (but not from Lydian, since the Lydian form of Gyges is kuka-, see s.v.), there are problems on the semantic side, since the Carian word seems to mean ‘grandfather’ and not a bird, not even secondarily (see the discussion s.v. quq). Accordingly, the onomatopoetic explanation (that cannot be excluded anyway) is more probable and supported by many examples cross-linguistically (Eng. cuckoo, Old Norse kjúklingr ‘chicken’, German Küken, etc.).

[Zs.S.]