κοιμάω

Forms

κοιμᾰ́ω (koimáō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is a denominative verb from an unattested noun *κοίμη (*koímē) or *κοῖμος (*koîmos),^[2][1] from the root of κεῖμαι (keîmai, “to lie”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to lie, rest”).^[2][3][1] The o-grade noun with an m-suffix is also found in Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍃 (haims, “village”), Lithuanian šeimýna (“family”) and Latvian saime (“family”).^[2] Van Beek notes that a base *ḱoymeh₂ would be strikingly similar in formation to εὐνή (eunḗ) “bed”.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad the middle is used of men lying down to sleep, and the active of Sleep closing a person's eyes; the Odyssey has it of putting a guest to bed and of a hind bedding her fawns.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The active meant to lull or put to bed, and figuratively to calm winds and waves or soothe pain, in Homer and Aeschylus; the middle and passive meant to lie down to sleep.^[4][3] Sleep was already an image of death in the Iliad, and Sophocles and funerary epigrams use the verb of the dead.^[3][5] It was also used of sleeping with someone, from Hesiod and Pindar on.^[3]

In the New Testament the passive means both to sleep and to have died.^[5] Its derivatives κοίμησις (koímēsis) “sleep, death” and κοιμητήριον (koimētḗrion), first a bedroom, then a resting place or burial ground, belong to this use; κοιμητήριον is continued in Modern Greek κοιμητήριο (koimitírio), a church word for a cemetery.^[2][6] The verb itself survives through Medieval Greek as Modern Greek κοιμάμαι (koimámai) “to sleep”.^[6]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of lying down to sleep, of lulling, and of the sleep of death.^[4][3][5]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it of sleeping with someone.^[3][7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of calming a flame or silencing a voice.^[4][3][7]
• 1st century AD – In the New Testament it means to sleep and to die.^[5]
• Modern Greek – It survives as κοιμάμαι “to sleep”, and its derivative as κοιμητήριο “cemetery”.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lull, put to sleep; to put to bed, settle for the night.^[4][3]
2. (euphemism) Of death, to put to sleep.^[3]
3. To calm, still winds or waves; to soothe pain; to silence a voice.^[4][3]
4. (middle and passive) To go to bed, fall asleep, sleep.^[4][3][5]
5. (middle and passive, euphemism) To sleep the sleep of death, to die.^[3][5]
6. (middle and passive) To sleep with someone; of animals, to mate.^[3]
7. (middle and passive) Of a watchman, to spend the night at his post.^[3]

Word family

• ἀποκοιμάομαι (apokoimáomai)
• ἐγκατακοιμάομαι (enkatakoimáomai)
• ἐκκοιμάομαι (ekkoimáomai)
• ἐπικατακοιμάομαι (epikatakoimáomai)
• ἐπικοιμάομαι (epikoimáomai)
• κατακοιμάω (katakoimáō)
• συγκοιμάομαι (sunkoimáomai)
• περικοιμάομαι (perikoimáomai)
• προκοιμάομαι (prokoimáomai)

Related words

• κοίμησις (koímēsis)
• κοιμητήριον (koimētḗrion)
• κοιμίζω (koimízō)
• κεῖμαι (keîmai)
• κοίτη (koítē)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f 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
6. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
7. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge