χάλαζα
Pronunciation
- 5th-century BC Attic: /kʰá.laz.da/[1]
- 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈxa.la.za/[1]
- 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈxa.la.za/[1]
Forms
χᾰ́λᾰζᾰ (khálaza) f (genitive χᾰλᾰ́ζης); first declension[1]
Etymology
It is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʰelh₂d- (“hail, hoarfrost”), formed with the feminine suffix -α on a stem in a dental.[2][1] The same stem is found in Slavic, Proto-Slavic *žȇldъ (“glazed frost, sleet”) (Polish żłód (“glaze”)), and in Iranian, Persian ژاله (žâle, “hail, hoarfrost”).[2][1] To fit the Greek form Beekes reconstructs *gʰl̥h₂-ed-, with the full grade in the suffix, whereas Slavic points to *gʰelH-d-.[2] Babiniotis also traces it to an Indo-European root meaning “ice”.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Homer uses it for hail: the Iliad names rain, hail or snow together.[4][5]
Semantic evolution
Classical writers used it for hail and hailstorms, and Aristophanes for single hailstones.[6][4] Figuratively it is any pelting shower: Pindar speaks of a “hail of blood” in battle, and Sophocles of a rainy hail.[4][6]
From its round shape it named small knots and lumps: a pimple or tubercle in pork (Aristotle), the knot in an egg, a hard lump in coal (Theophrastus) or ivory, and, in Galen, a small cyst on the eyelid.[4][2] In the Book of Revelation hail falls together with fire.[7]
The diminutive χαλάζιον (khalázion) became Byzantine Greek χαλάζιν (khalázin) and Modern Greek χαλάζι (chalázi), the usual word for hail.[8][3]
Timeline
- Homer – The Iliad names hail together with rain and snow.[4][5][9]
- 6th–5th century BC – Pindar speaks of a hail of blood.[4][6][10]
- 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes uses it for hailstones.[4][6][10]
- 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for a tubercle in the flesh of swine and for a knot in an egg.[4][10]
- 1st century AD – The Book of Revelation describes hail mixed with fire.[4][7]
- 2nd century AD – Galen uses it for a small cyst on the eyelid.[4][10]
- Modern Greek – The diminutive Modern Greek χαλάζι (chalázi) is the word for hail.[8]
Meanings
Noun
- Hail, a hailstorm; a hailstone.[4][6]
- (figurative) Any pelting shower, as of blood.[4][6]
- A pimple or tubercle, as in the flesh of swine.[4]
- (medicine) A small cyst on the eyelid.[4]
- A knot or hard lump, as in an egg, in coal or in ivory.[4]
Word family
- χαλαζάω (khalazáō)
- χαλάζιον (khalázion)
- χαλαζοφύλαξ (khalazophúlax)
Related words
- Modern Greek χαλάζι (chalázi)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
- ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b 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
- ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
- ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge