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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for September 1, 1999
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jinx [v., n. jingks]
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To jinx something is to bring bad luck to it, and something that
brings bad luck is a jinx, and so is a period of time during which a
run of bad luck is experienced. Example: "Joe believed that failing
to knock once on the edge of the table before casting the dice would
jinx the roll."
The modern form of the word dates back to approximately the sixteenth
century, when a jynx was a charm or spell that was supposed to cause
bad luck or evil influences. The name came from the frequent use of
such charms as the feathers of the wryneck, or jynx bird, a kind of
woodpecker. That name in turn may have come from the Latin iynx,
possibly from Greek iuzein (to call).
Jinx is one of the few words in English that ends in -nx. Two others
are sphynx and larynx. Can you think of another?
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