Etymograph

English

ilinx

Ilinx comes from Ancient Greek ἶλιγξ ‘whirlpool’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἶλιγξ1îlinx‘whirlpool’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1969ilinx1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ilinx
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1969, -, Roscoe Conkling Brown: “As illustrations he provides sports for agon, lotteries for…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἶλιγξWiktionary, English ilinxîlinx‘whirlpool’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1969ilinxWiktionary, English ilinx. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1969, -, Roscoe Conkling Brown: “As illustrations he provides sports for agon, lotteries for…”

The story

Via French from Ancient Greek ἶλιγξ (îlinx, “whirlpool; dizziness”), coined by French sociologist Roger Caillois in 1958.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn, wind’

well, walk, wall, volume, revolution, evolution, valve, involve, vault, evolve, revolt, vulgar, waltz, convoluted, helix, divulge, vagrant, vulva, wale, voluminous, gauche, convolution, vulgate, voluble, valvular, involution, valise, ilium, 74 more

through Ancient Greek εἴλω ‘to roll up, pack close’

iliac, 1 more

Today it means

noun A form of play that creates a temporary disruption of perception, for example by inducing vertigo, dizziness, disorientation, or frenzy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ilinx”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek ἶλιγξ / ilinx

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