Meanings
lynx1
plural lynxes
- Any of several medium-sized wild cats of the genus Lynx.
Lynx2
- astronomyA faint spring constellation of the northern sky. It lies north of the constellation Cancer.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounshort-tailed wildcats with usually tufted ears; valued for their fur
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
lynx · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*lewk-“white; light; bright”
- Proto-Hellenic*lúnks
- Ancient Greekλύγξ
- Latinlynx
- Middle Englishlynx
- Englishlynx
From Middle English lynx, linx, lenx, lynce, from Latin lynx, from Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), from Proto-Hellenic *lúnks, from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“white; light; bright”), because of the cat's seemingly glowing eyes and ability to see in the dark. Doublet of onza and ounce. Displaced English los; Middle English lusk (“lynx”), from Old English lox (“lynx”) as the animal died out in Britain during the Middle Ages.
More words from Middle English, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Lynx · proper noun
- Latinlynx“lynx”
- EnglishLynx
From Latin lynx (“lynx”). Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. The constellation is said to be so faint that one needs the eyes of a lynx to see it.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans los
- loswild cat
Ancient Greek λύγξ
- λύγξ (lúnx)wild cat
Arabic وَشَق, الْوَشَق
- وَشَق (wašaq)wild cat
- الْوَشَق (al-wašaq)constellation
Basque katamotz
- katamotzwild cat
Bulgarian рис
- рис (ris)wild cat
Catalan linx
- linxwild cat
Chinese Mandarin 猞猁, 山貓 /山猫
- 猞猁 (shēlì)wild cat
- 山貓 /山猫 (shānmāo)wild cat
- 天貓座 /天猫座 (Tiānmāozuò)constellation
Czech rys
- ryswild cat
Danish los
- loswild cat
Dutch lynx
- lynxwild cat
Esperanto linko, Linko
- linkowild cat
- Linkoconstellation
Estonian ilves
- ilveswild cat
Finnish ilves, Ilves
- ilveswild cat
- Ilvesconstellation
French lynx, loup-cervier
- lynxwild cat
- loup-cervierwild cat
- Lynxconstellation
German Luchs, Luchs
- Luchswild cat
- Luchsconstellation
Greek λύγκας
- λύγκας (lýgkas)wild cat
Hebrew שֻׁנָּר, שונר
- שֻׁנָּרwild cat
- שונרwild cat
Hindi लिंक्स, बनबिलाव
- लिंक्स (liṅks)wild cat
- बनबिलाव (banbilāv)wild cat
Hungarian hiúz
- hiúzwild cat
Icelandic gaupa, Gaupan
- gaupawild cat
- Gaupanconstellation
Indonesian kucing kutub
- kucing kutubwild cat
Irish lincse, an Lincse
- lincsewild cat
- an Lincseconstellation
Italian lince
- lincewild cat
Japanese ヤマネコ, 山猫
- ヤマネコ (yamaneko)wild cat
- 山猫 (yamaneko)wild cat
- オオヤマネコ (ōyamaneko)wild cat
- 大山猫 (ōyamaneko)wild cat
- リンクス (rinkusu)wild cat
Korean 스라소니
- 스라소니 (seurasoni)wild cat
Latin lynx, chama
- lynxwild cat
- chamawild cat
Latvian lūsis
- lūsiswild cat
Lithuanian lūšis
- lūšiswild cat
Malay Links
- Linksconstellation
Norwegian Bokmål gaupe
- gaupewild cat
Persian وشق, سیاهگوش
- وشق (vašaq)wild cat
- سیاهگوش (siyâh-guš)wild cat
Polish ryś, Ryś
- ryświld cat
- Ryśconstellation
Portuguese lince
- lincewild cat
Romanian linx, râs
- linxwild cat
- râswild cat
Russian рысь, Рысь
- рысь (rysʹ)wild cat
- Рысь (Rysʹ)constellation
Scottish Gaelic linceach, lioncs
- linceachwild cat
- lioncswild cat
Slovak rys
- ryswild cat
Spanish lince, Lynx
- lincewild cat
- Lynxconstellation
Swahili linksi
- linksiwild cat
Swedish lo, lodjur
- lowild cat
- lodjurwild cat
Tagalog linse
- linsewild cat
Thai ลิงซ์
- ลิงซ์ (líng)wild cat
Turkish vaşak
- vaşakwild cat
Ukrainian рись
- рись (rysʹ)wild cat
Vietnamese linh miêu
- linh miêuwild cat
Welsh lyncs
- lyncswild cat
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with lynx
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
lynx. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lynx
“lynx.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lynx. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lynx,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lynx.
Source: lynx on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.