κλαίω

Forms

κλαίω (klaíō) ^[1] Old Attic κλάω (never contracted); Aeolic κλαΐω; future usually middle, κλαύσομαι.^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[4][1] The present comes from *κλάϝω (*kláwō), as the forms κλαύσομαι (klaúsomai) and κλαυθμός (klauthmós) show.^[4][2] The only comparison is Albanian qaj (“to weep”), from a form with a nasal and a yod suffix; if the word is Indo-European, a root Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- can be reconstructed, but since no other language has it, Beekes allows that it may be Pre-Greek.^[4][1][5]

Ancient grammarians derived it from κλάω (kláō, “to break”), because the voice breaks in grief, or from καλέω (kaléō, “to call”), because mourners call on the dead.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, meaning to weep and wail, and transitively to weep for someone.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Homer and the tragedians it is weeping aloud and mourning the dead; from Aristophanes on it is also plain crying, even for joy in Xenophon.^[3] The future κλαύσει “you will weep for it” served as a threat.^[2][3]

In the New Testament it is weeping, especially in mourning for the dead.^[7] Medieval Greek also had the form κλαίγω, with an inserted /ɣ/ to avoid the hiatus, and the ancient verb lives on as Modern Greek κλαίω (klaío).^[8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for weeping and for mourning the dead.^[3][9]
• 5th century BC – Aristophanes uses it for plain crying and the future κλαύσει as a threat.^[3][2]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for weeping and mourning.^[7]
• Modern Greek – κλαίω (klaío) continues the ancient verb, with the medieval variant κλαίγω.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To weep and wail, over someone or something.^[3][2]
2. (transitive) To mourn, weep for a dead person or a misfortune.^[3]
3. To shed tears, cry.^[3][7]
4. (future, as a threat) To be sorry for something: “you will weep for it”.^[2][3]

Word family

• ἀνακλαίω (anaklaíō)
• ἀντικλαίω (antiklaíō)
• ἀποκλαίω (apoklaíō)
• ἐπικλαίω (epiklaíō)
• κατακλαίω (kataklaíō)
• περικλαίω (periklaíō)
• προκλαίω (proklaíō)
• προσκατακλαίομαι (proskataklaíomai)
• ἄκλαυτος (áklautos)
• ἐπίκλαυτος (epíklautos)
• κλαυθμονή (klauthmonḗ)
• κλαυθμός (klauthmós)
• κλαυθμυρισμός (klauthmurismós)
• κλαυμονή (klaumonḗ)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
6. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
7. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux