χάρις

Forms

χᾰ́ρῐς (kháris) f (genitive χᾰ́ρῐτος); third declension^[1] Mycenaean has the men's names Mycenaean Greek ka-ri-se-u and Mycenaean Greek ka-ri-si-jo, formed from this word.^[2]

Etymology

It comes from the same root as the verb “to rejoice”,^[1][3] from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to desire, enjoy”).^[4] Beekes and Frisk class it with a small group of i-stems built on the zero grade of the root, such as ῥάχις (rhákhis) and the adverb πάλιν (pálin).^[4][5] Lubotsky's reconstruction of the root with a final laryngeal, *ǵʰerH-, would explain the Greek vowel a.^[4]

The present χαίρω (khaírō, “to rejoice”) matches Sanskrit हर्यति (háryati, “to find pleasure, like”); other relatives are nouns such as Old High German gern (“desirous, eager”) and gerōn (“to desire”).^[4][5] Ancient writers already linked the word with joy: the grammarian Apollodorus (2nd century BC) said the Graces were named from χαρά (kharā́, “joy”), because poets often used the one word for the other.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word family is already present in the Mycenaean men's names Mycenaean Greek ka-ri-se-u and Mycenaean Greek ka-ri-si-jo.^[2][7] In Homer it means outward grace and charm, as when Athena pours grace over Telemachus (Odyssey 2.12), and also a favour done and the gratitude it earns.^[8][3][9]

Semantic evolution

From the charm of persons and things the word passed to the goodwill felt towards someone and the favour shown, then to the thanks given in return;^[3][8] the sexual favours of a woman and the pleasure or joy something gives were also called χάρις.^[3][8][2] Personified, it named the Graces (Χάριτες), goddesses linked with the Muses and Aphrodite, and in the Iliad Charis is the wife of Hephaestus.^[3] The accusative χάριν became a preposition, placed before or more often after its noun, meaning “for the sake of, because of”.^[2][3]

In Hellenistic inscriptions and papyri it was above all the favour of a friend, a ruler or the gods.^[10] The Septuagint used it for finding favour in someone's eyes, often of the Lord's kindness received unearned.^[11] The New Testament built on this the theological sense of God's free grace, and Paul also used it for a generous gift, such as the collection for Jerusalem.^[10][6]

The medieval and modern everyday form is Modern Greek χάρη (chári), with the ending of other feminines in -η.^[12][7] The learned form χάρις is kept for divine grace and a pardon granted to a convict, and its senses “period of grace” and “thanks to” are modelled on English grace period and French grâce à.^[12]

Timeline

• Mycenaean period – The men's names Mycenaean Greek ka-ri-se-u and Mycenaean Greek ka-ri-si-jo are formed from it.^[2]
• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for grace and charm, a favour done and the thanks for it, and name Charis as Hephaestus' wife.^[3][8]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod speaks of grace poured about the head.^[8][13]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for splendour and glory, and Aeschylus for goodwill and kindness.^[3][13]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Euripides use the accusative χάριτα beside the usual χάριν.^[3][8][13]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for the grace of God and for a generous gift.^[6][10]
• Middle Ages – The everyday form becomes Modern Greek χάρη (chári).^[7][12]
• Modern Greek – Learned χάρις is used for divine grace and a pardon, and takes the senses “period of grace” and “thanks to” from English and French.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. Grace, charm, beauty, of persons, objects, deeds or words.^[3][8]
2. Splendour, glory.^[3]
3. (personified) Grace; in the plural, the Graces, usually three daughters of Zeus.^[3]
4. Goodwill, kindness, favour felt towards someone.^[3][8]
5. A favour or service done for a person or a god.^[3][8]
6. Sexual favours.^[3][2]
7. Gratitude, thanks for a favour.^[3][8]
8. Pleasure, delight, joy given by someone or something.^[3]
9. (accusative χάριν, as a preposition) for the sake of, because of.^[3][2]
10. (Koine, New Testament) The free grace of God; a gift or act of generosity.^[6][10]

Word family

• ἄχαρις (ákharis)
• ἀχαριστέω (akharistéō)
• ἀχάριστος (akháristos)
• εὔχαρις (eúkharis)
• εὐχαριστέω (eukharistéō)
• εὐχάριστος (eukháristos)
• εὐχαρίστως (eukharístōs)
• χαρίεις (kharíeis)
• χαρίζομαι (kharízomai)
• χαρίζω (kharízō)
• χάρισμα (khárisma)
• χαριτόω (kharitóō)

Related words

• χαίρω (khaírō)
• χαρά (kharā́)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ a b c d 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
7. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b c d Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
11. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
12. ^ a b c d Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
13. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge