χέω
Pronunciation
Forms
χέω (khéō) [1] Mycenaean Greek me-ta-ke-ku-me-na is a perfect passive participle of the compound with μετά (metá).[2][3]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéweti, from *ǵʰew- (“to pour”).[1][2] The closest relatives are in Indo-Aryan, in the language of sacrifice: the verbal adjective χυτός (khutós) and the nouns χεῦμα (kheûma) and χύσις (khúsis) have exact counterparts in Sanskrit words for sacrificial pouring and sacrifice.[2] Greek has a full-grade thematic present, Sanskrit a reduplicated athematic one, Sanskrit जुहोति (juhóti); both may be old.[2][1]
Latin and Germanic have a form of the root extended with -d-: Latin fundō (“to pour out”) and Old English ġēotan (“to pour”).[2][1] Old Armenian ձեւ (jew, “form, shape”) is also cognate.[2][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is attested on the Mycenaean tablets in a compound.[2][3] Its first passage in the GLAUx corpus is Iliad 1.357;[4] in Homer it is used of pouring water and wine, libations, shedding tears, Zeus pouring down snow, and heaping up earth.[5][2]
Semantic evolution
Already in Homer the verb had a wide range: pouring out liquids, the voice (of birds and singers), dust over one's head, and things that hang or fall loosely, such as fruit from a tree.[5] It was a word of ritual: its o-grade derivative χοή (khoḗ) meant a drink-offering, especially to the dead.[2] In Plato the passive is used of bodily substances that flow, and of loose-textured organs.[5]
Late Greek formed a new present in -χύνω in compounds, the source of Modern Greek χύνω (chíno).[2][3] Modern Greek also uses many learned compounds of the root, such as έκχυση (ékchysi) and σύγχυση (sýnchysi).[3]
Timeline
- Mycenaean period – A perfect passive participle of a compound appears on the Linear B tablets.[2][3]
- Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for pouring liquids, shedding tears and heaping up earth.[5][2]
- 5th century BC – Herodotus and the tragedians use it for pouring libations.[5][6]
- 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses the passive of bodily fluids.[5][6]
- Late Greek – Compounds form a new present in -χύνω, which survives in Modern Greek χύνω.[2][3]
Meanings
Verb
- To pour a liquid (water, wine); to pour a libation.[5][2]
- (of a spring or river) To pour forth water.[5]
- (passive) To flow, be liquid.[5] (Of the heart) to melt.[5]
- To shed tears.[5]
- To shed, spill blood.[5]
- (of Zeus, the wind) To pour down rain or snow.[5]
- To pour dust over one's head.[5] (Passive, of a disease) to spread through the body.[5]
- To pour forth the voice, a lament, a prayer.[5]
- (of the tide) To cast up; to heap up earth.[5][2]
- To let hang down (fruit, sails, a robe).[5]
Word family
- ἀμφιχέω (amphikhéō)
- ἀναχέω (anakhéō)
- ἀποχέω (apokhéō)
- διαχέω (diakhéō)
- ἐγχέω (enkhéō)
- εἰσχέω (eiskhéō)
- ἐκχέω (ekkhéō)
- ἐπιχέω (epikhéō)
- καταχέω (katakhéō)
- οἰνοχόη (oinokhóē)
- χοή (khoḗ)
- χοῦς (khoûs)
- χεῦμα (kheûma)
- χυτός (khutós)
- χύσις (khúsis)
Related words
- Latin fundō
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 c d e f Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
- ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge