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Meaning & History
Thought to be derived from the Greek verb ἐρεύγομαι (ereugomai) meaning "to disgorge, blurt out, belch out" (and presumably cognate with ERYX, the name of the eponymous hero of Mount Eryx, a volcano in Sicily). There might also be a connection to the Greek verb ἐρύκω (erykô) "to restrain, curb, keep in". This was name of a 6th-century BC queen of Cyrenaica who avenged the death of her husband, Arcesilaus, by luring his killer into her bedroom, where her brother killed him.