Meanings
nounHyksos pl (plural only)
alternative Hycsos
- historicalpluralplural onlyA mixed group of Asiatic people from Western Asia who took over the eastern Nile Delta, ending the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt and initiating the Second Intermediate Period.
But in the New Kingdom, after the invasion of the Hyksos in their horse-drawn chariots, the horse became a more powerful image.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 238
Origin
- Egyptianḥqꜣ-ḫꜣst“foreign ruler, Hyksos”
- Ancient GreekὙκσώς
- EnglishHyksos
From Ancient Greek Ὑκσώς (Huksṓs), Ὑξώς (Huxṓs), from Egyptian ḥqꜣ-ḫꜣst (“foreign ruler, Hyksos”), from ḥqꜣ (“ruler”) + ḫꜣst (“foreign land”).
More words from Ancient Greek, Egyptian
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Hyksos. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hyksos
MLA
“Hyksos.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hyksos. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hyksos,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hyksos.
Source: Hyksos on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.