χαίρω

Forms

χαίρω (khaírō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kʰəřřō,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to find pleasure, desire”).^[2][3][1] The ι of the present stem comes from the present suffix *-ye/o- added to the root.^[1][4][5] A present of this kind is found in Sanskrit हर्यति (háryati, “finds pleasure, likes”).^[2][4][3] Italic has Latin hortor (“to urge”) and Umbrian and Oscan verbs meaning “to want”, and Germanic has Old High German gerōn (“to desire”) and gern (“eager”).^[2][4] Lubotsky reconstructs a root with a final laryngeal, which explains the Greek a.^[2] The noun χάρις (kháris) is a zero-grade i-stem of the same root.^[2]

An ancient etymologist derived it from χέω (khéō, “to pour”), because the soul is relaxed and pleased.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it means to be glad or rejoice, in one's heart or at something; the imperative χαῖρε is already a greeting and a farewell.^[7][8][9]

Semantic evolution

With a participle it meant to enjoy doing something, and then to be in the habit of doing it, as in Herodotus and Plato.^[9][8] With a negative and a future, “you will not rejoice” meant “you will not get away with it”.^[9][8] The phrase χαίρειν λέγω “I say farewell” was used both for a greeting and for dismissing something.^[8] Aristophanes mocks a middle χαίρομαι as foreign, though it later appears in inscriptions and prose.^[9] Theophrastus says of plants that they “rejoice” in sandy ground, that is, thrive there.^[9]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament it means to rejoice, and the infinitive χαίρειν opens letters as “greeting”; the imperative is also a farewell.^[10][11] Modern Greek χαίρω (chéro) survives as a learned word in set phrases such as “pleased to meet you” and “to be in excellent health”.^[12]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for rejoicing, and χαῖρε as a greeting.^[7][9]
• 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses the greeting formula χαίρειν.^[8][13]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it with a participle for doing something gladly or habitually.^[9][13]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes mocks the middle χαίρομαι.^[9][13]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus uses it of plants thriving in a soil.^[9][13]
• 1st century AD – The Acts of the Apostles and James open letters with χαίρειν.^[10]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek χαίρω (chéro) survives in learned set phrases.^[12]

Meanings

Verb

1. To be glad, rejoice; to take delight in something.^[9][8]
2. To enjoy doing something; to be in the habit of doing it.^[9][8]
3. (with a negative, usually future) Not to get away unpunished.^[9][8]
4. (imperative χαῖρε, χαίρετε) Hail, greetings; farewell.^[8][10]
5. (infinitive χαίρειν, in letters) Greeting.^[10]
6. Of plants, to thrive in a place.^[9]

Word family

• ἀντιχαίρω (antikhaírō)
• ἐπιχαιρεκακία (epikhairekakíā)
• ἐπιχαιρέκακος (epikhairékakos)
• ἐπιχαίρω (epikhaírō)
• καταχαίρω (katakhaírō)
• προσχαίρω (proskhaírō)
• προχαίρω (prokhaírō)
• συγχαίρω (sunkhaírō)
• ὑπερχαίρω (huperkhaírō)
• χαιρετισμός (khairetismós)
• ἀποχαιρετίζω (apokhairetízō)
• ἐπιχαιράγαθος (epikhairágathos)
• περιχαίρω (perikhaírō)
• ὑποχαίρω (hupokhaírō)

Related words

• εὐχαριστέω (eukharistéō)
• χαρά (kharā́)
• χαριεντίζομαι (kharientízomai)
• χάρις (kháris)
• χάρμα (khárma)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
6. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
7. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c d Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
13. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge