jynx

Meaning

Noun

• A bird, the wryneck, once thought a bird of ill omen (Jynx torquilla).
• A charm or spell.
• The name of an order of spiritual intelligences in ancient “Chaldaic” philosophy.

Origin

• An adaptation of the Latin iynx ("wryneck"), itself an adaptation of the Ancient Greek ἴυγξ ("Eurasian wryneck”, “Jynx torquilla”; figuratively “a spell or charm”, “passionate yearning"), which see for an explanation of the development of its senses.