תוכי

Hebrew

Etymology

Unknown. If meaning "peacock", then it shares an origin with Ancient Greek ταώς (taṓs), sometimes claimed to be from Tamil தோகை (tōkai, “tail (of a peacock)”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

תוכי / תֻּכִּי • (túki) m (plural indefinite תוכים / תֻּכִּים or תֻּכִּיִּים, singular construct תוכי / תֻּכִּי־, plural construct תוכי / תֻּכֵּי־ or תֻּכִּיֵּי־)

1. (Biblical Hebrew, hapax, in the plural) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
   1. peacocks
   2. monkeys, baboon
   • Tanach, 1 Kings 10:22, with translation of the King James Version:

     כִּי אֳנִי תַרְשִׁישׁ לַמֶּלֶךְ בַּיָּם, עִם אֳנִי חִירָם; אַחַת לְשָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים תָּבוֹא אֳנִי תַרְשִׁישׁ, נֹשְׂאֵת זָהָב וָכֶסֶף, שֶׁנְהַבִּים וְקֹפִים וְתֻכִּיִּים

     ki oní tarshísh lamélech bayám, 'im oní ḥirám; aḥát ləshalósh shaním tavó oní tarshísh, nosét zaháv vachésef, shinhabím vəqofím vətukiyím

     For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

2. (modern) A parrot (a kind of bird).
3. (modern, figuratively) A parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others.

Usage notes

• The plural and plural construct forms in Biblical Hebrew are תֻּכִּיִּים and תֻּכִּיֵּי, respectively. The modern forms are listed above.

Derived terms

• תוכאים / תֻּכָּאִים

References

• H8500 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• “תֻּכִּי” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language