κῶμος

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /kɔ̂ː.mos/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈko.mos/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈko.mos/^[1]

Forms

κῶμος (kômos) m (genitive κώμου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain, because the development of its meaning is unclear.^[2][3][1] Proposals include:^[2][3][1]

• *ḱómso-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱems- (“to proclaim”), the root of Sanskrit शंस (śáṃsa, “praise”) and Latin cēnseō (“to give an opinion”) (Dunkel, Schlerath).^[1][2]
• *kóh₂-mo-, from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂- (“to desire”), as in Sanskrit काम (kā́ma, “desire”) and Latin cārus (“dear”) (Janda).^[1]
• Older guesses connected it with κώμη (kṓmē, “village”) or with Latin cibus (“food”).^[3]
• Beekes suggests it is a Pre-Greek word, from Pre-Greek.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is post-Homeric.^[2] Its first recorded uses are in Theognis and the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (6th century BC), for revelry.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It was communal revelry with feasting, dancing, singing and drinking (Herodotus, Euripides), and especially the band of drunken men roaming the streets at night, sometimes gate-crashing a party (Theognis, Aristophanes, Plato, Xenophon).^[6][5] Isaeus and Bion use it for a visit to the house of one's beloved, to pound at the door or sing a serenade.^[6] Pindar uses it often.^[4]

Spicq describes its first meaning as a festive procession that formed part of religious festivals and was linked to the birth of the theatre.^[7] Its compound κωμῳδός (kōmōidós), the singer in a κῶμος, became the comic actor, and κωμικός (kōmikós) means “of comedy”.^[2]

Timeline

• 6th century BC – Theognis and the Homeric Hymn to Hermes use it.^[4][5]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it often.^[4][8]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for revelry.^[5][8]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato speaks of dinners and revels with flute-girls.^[5][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Revelry, merrymaking.^[5][6]
2. A band of revellers roaming at night.^[6]
3. A festive procession, especially of Dionysus; a festive song.^[2][7]
4. A visit of revellers to the house of a beloved.^[6]

Word family

• κωμάζω (kōmázō)
• κωμαστής (kōmastḗs)
• κωμῳδία (kōmōidíā)
• σύγκωμος (súnkōmos)
• ἀκώμαστος (akṓmastos)

Related words

• English comedy

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
5. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge