Etymologically
Log in

κῶμα

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 25 October 2026 at 01:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /kɔ̂ː.ma/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈko.ma/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈko.ma/[1]

Forms

κῶμᾰ (kôma) n (genitive κώμᾰτος); third declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.[2][3] Brugmann derived it from the root of κεῖμαι (keîmai, “to lie”), as Proto-Indo-European *kōi-mn̥, and the comparison with κοιμάω (koimáō, “to put to sleep”) would fit the sense, but Beekes rejects it because of the lengthened grade, while Babiniotis accepts it.[2][3][4] Persson's link with κάμνω (kámnō, “to toil”) is no better, according to Chantraine.[3] Another proposal derives it from *ḱumbʰ-, comparing Latin incumbō (“to lie down on”).[1]

Ancient grammarians had the same idea as Brugmann: Philoxenus derived κῶμα from a verb “to lie down”, the source also of κείω (keíō, “to go to bed”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for a soft, deep sleep that covers a person, brought about by supernatural means.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Hesiod uses it for an evil torpor, Sappho for the slumber that flows from rustling leaves, and Pindar for the effect of music.[6][7] It is not found in tragedy.[6] The Hippocratic writers made it a medical term for a lethargic state, a coma, and Galen kept it.[6][2]

Through Latin it became English coma in the 1640s.[8] Modern Greek κώμα (kóma) is a learned medical word, with the derivative Modern Greek κωματώδης (komatódis, “comatose”).[9][4]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for deep sleep sent by a god.[6][7]
  • Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony uses it for an evil torpor.[6][10]
  • 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses it for slumber.[6][10]
  • 5th century BC – The Hippocratic Epidemics use it for a lethargic state, a coma.[6][10]
  • 1640s – English borrows coma through Latin.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A deep sleep, a trance, especially one sent by a god.[6][7]
  2. Natural deep sleep; numbness, torpor.[7]
  3. (medicine) A lethargic state, coma.[6][2]

Word family

  • κωματώδης (kōmatṓdēs)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
  4. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
  5. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  10. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge