Word.ws English Dictionary

syrinx

Syllables: sy·rinx/ˈsɪɹɪŋks/US/sɪˈɹɪnd͡ʒiz/

syrinx noun: a set of panpipes.

syrinx: a set of panpipes
Image: Opzwartbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

syrinx (plural syrinxes or syringes)

  1. A set of panpipes.
    • [T]he Syrinx might give occaſion to the bagpipe, by leading the vvay to its invention; for it vvas certainly very natural, both for eaſe in playing, and for the ſaving of breath, and even for the health and ſafety of the performer's lungs, to contrive a method of conveying vvind to the ſeveral...1754 March 25 (date written), Paul Gemsage, “[Further Remarks on the Antient Syrinx]”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume...
    • Pipes will I fashion of the syrinx flag, / That thou mayst always know whither I roam, / When it shall please thee in our quiet home / To listen and think of love.1818, John Keats, “Book IV”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] T[homas] Miller, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 192, lines 690–693
  2. (broadly) Chiefly in the plural: a narrow channel cut in rock, especially in Ancient Egyptian burial chambers.
    • And novv vvhen the people of all ſorts came flocking to the Court, in a tumultuous manner, Agathocles [grandson of Agathocles of Syracuse], taking the King vvith him, vvent and hid himſelf, in a place called Syringes, vvhich vvas a gallery or vvalk, vvhich had every vvay three vvalls and gates to...1658, James Ussher, “The Sixth Age of the World. [The Macedonian Empire.]”, in The Annals of the World. […], London: […] E[van] Tyler, for J[ohn] Crook, […], and for G[abriel] Bedell, […], →OCLC...
    • The Former of theſe Tvvo Hermes [i.e., the god Thoth], vvas the Inventor of Arts and Sciences, the Latter [Siphoas], the Reſtorer and Advancer of them: the Firſt vvrote in Hieroglyphicks upon Pillars, ἐν τῆ Συριγγικῆ γῆ [in the land of Syringes] (as the learned Valeſius conjectures it ſhould be...1678, R[alph] Cudworth, chapter IV, in The True Intellectual System of the Universe: The First Part; wherein All the Reason and Philosophy of Atheism is Confuted; and Its Impossibility Demonstrated...
  3. (broadly) Any of several abnormal tube-shaped structures in the body, especially a rare, fluid-filled neuroglial cavity in the brain stem or within the spinal cord.
    • The division of fluid-filled cavities, or syrinxes, into those lined with ependyma (hydromyelia) and those not so lined (syringomyelia) is probably somewhat artificial.1989, Margaret M[iriam] Esiri, D. R. Oppenheimer, “The Cut-up”, in Diagnostic Neuropathology: A Practical Manual, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Blackwell Scientific Publications, →ISBN, page 32, column 2
    • The myelin around the syrinx shows changes similar to edematous white matter, probably due to tearing of the tissues and transudation of serous fluid into them.1990, W[alter] J[osef] Huk, “Malformations of the CNS [Central Nervous System]”, in W. J. Huk, G[ünther] Gademann, G[erd] Friedmann [et al.], translated by Terry Telger, Magnetic Resonance Imaging of...
  4. (broadly) The voice organ in birds, located at or near where the trachea and the bronchi join.
    • This tube is named the Windpipe, Trachea, or Aspera-arteria; […] its lower extremity, or the part at which it bifurcates, is the Lower Larynx, or the Syrinx. Besides acting as a pipe to the lungs, it is also the organ of the voice, the air in passing through it causing its membranes so to vibrate...1839, William MacGillivray, “Practical Ornithology. Fifth Lesson.”, in A History of British Birds, Indigenous and Migratory: […], volume II (Cantatores, Songsters), London: […] [W. Burness] for...
    • The role of the syrinx in psittacine sound production is still under examination, and probably differs from that of songbirds. […] For species with relatively simple syringes but complex vocal behavior (such as Grey parrots), these data imply that other structures must modify syringeal output.1999, Irene Maxine Pepperberg, “How Does a Grey Parrot Produce Human Speech Sounds?”, in The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard...
    Synonyms:
    lower larynx

Proper noun capitalized: Syrinx

Syrinx

  1. (Greek) An Arcadian nymph, changed into a reed

syrinx meaning in Malayalam, Arabic, Persian and Vietnamese

syrinx in Malayalam

ശബ്‌ദിനി

syrinx in Arabic

voice organ in birds
مصفار

syrinx in Persian

voice organ in birds
سوتک

syrinx in Vietnamese

voice organ in birds
minh quản

Examples of syrinx in a sentence

  • Sven Hedin's collection there is a fragment of a neck of a jar, which shows a whole circle of Gandharvas performing on drums, harps, syrinxes, etc.1901, A. F. Rudolf Hoernle [i.e., Augustus Frederic Rudolf Hoernlé], “A Report on the British Collection of Antiquities from Central Asia...
  • Inside, somebody was playing a duet on syrinx and lyre.2006, Thomas Pynchon, “Iceland Spar”, in Against the Day, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 220:
  • A syrinx within the central canal interrupts the decussating spinothalamic tract fibers resulting in bilateral loss of pain and temperature sensations around the level of the lesion.2024, N. Nevin, M. M. Danzi, E. Ulanowski, M. R. Wiegand, “Orthopaedic Neurology”, in Jeffrey D. Placzek, David A. Boyce, editors...
  • This tube is named the Windpipe, Trachea, or Aspera-arteria; […] its lower extremity, or the part at which it bifurcates, is the Lower Larynx, or the Syrinx.1839, William MacGillivray, “Practical Ornithology. Fifth Lesson.”, in A History of British Birds, Indigenous and Migratory: […], volume II...

Synonyms of syrinx

Forms of syrinx

pluralsyrinxes
pluralsyringes

Origin of syrinx

Learned borrowing from Latin sȳrinx (“reed; reed pipe, panpipes”), from Ancient Greek σῦριγξ (sûrinx, “panpipes; pipe-shaped object”), from Pre-Greek. Doublet of syringe. The plural form syringes is a learned borrowing from Latin sȳringes.

Borrowed from Latin Sȳrinx, from Ancient Greek Σῦρῐγξ (Sûrĭnx).

Questions about syrinx

What does syrinx mean?
Syrinx means a set of panpipes.
What is syrinx in Malayalam?
Syrinx in Malayalam is ശബ്‌ദിനി. See Syrinx meaning in Malayalam.
How do you use syrinx in a sentence?
Sven Hedin's collection there is a fragment of a neck of a jar, which shows a whole circle of Gandharvas performing on drums, harps, syrinxes, etc.
What part of speech is syrinx?
Syrinx can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce syrinx?
Syrinx is pronounced /ˈsɪɹɪŋks/ (UK).
What is the plural of syrinx?
The plural of syrinx is syrinxes.

Words near syrinx in the dictionary

  1. syringotomies
  2. syringotomy
  3. syringotoxin
  4. Syrings
  5. syringyl
  6. syrinx
  7. syrinxes
  8. syriobioside
  9. syriogenin
  10. Syriologist
  11. Syriologists

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: syrinx (page history and authors); Syrinx (page history and authors); syrinx (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-syrinx.wav.

Cite this entry: “syrinx.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/syrinx. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.