The name may derive from ⲕⲓⲧ-, 'to put on oneself' + -ⲟⲥ (completive) + -ⲗ = 'the one who puts on himslef', perhaps Nubian translation of the Greek φόρος. Otherwise, it may come from ⲕⲧ̄-, 'rock'.
Meaning: perhaps cognate with the modern ⲕⲟϣⲟⲕ(ⲓ), ‘thicket, bush’ (Nobiin), kósk-ir, ‘cause or allow to ferment’ (Dongolawi), or koškir, ‘big needle’ (Nobiin, Dongolawi, Kenzi).