χαμαί

Forms

χᾰμαί (khamaí) ^[1]

Etymology

It is a frozen case form of the Indo-European word for “earth”, Proto-Indo-European *dʰéǵʰōm, in the zero grade, the same word as χθών (khthṓn).^[2][3][1] It is usually explained as an old dative, or as a locative, and compared with the adverbs πάλαι (pálai) and παραί (paraí).^[2][4][3] Wiktionary also cites Ringe's view that it continues an allative case form with a particle -i added, Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰm̥m-éh₂-i, which would match Hittite taknā.^[1]

Latin humī (“on the ground”) is a close parallel, but its stem vowel differs, and Old Prussian semmai (“down”) has the vowel /e/;^[2][4] Beekes takes all of them to be independent formations from the same noun.^[2][4] Chantraine rejects any link with the Mycenaean word Mycenaean Greek ka-ma, a kind of plot of land.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it both for being on the ground and for falling to the ground: in the Iliad a man falls “to the earth in the dust”, and in the Odyssey someone sits on the ground.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The adverb meant both “on the ground” and “to the ground”, with or without motion.^[6][3] In Homer, Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns it could also mean “on earth”, among mortals, as opposed to heaven.^[6] Pindar used it of burying something in the ground, and figuratively of words falling to the ground, that is, coming to nothing, as Plato did too.^[6][5] The adverbs χαμᾶζε (khamâze) “to the ground” and χαμᾶθεν (khamâthen) “from the ground” were formed beside it.^[2][3]

It became a very productive first member of compounds, many of them names of low-growing plants: χαμαίδρυς (khamaídrūs) “ground oak” and others.^[2][3] In John's Gospel it is used of spitting on the ground and of people falling to the ground.^[8][5] In medieval Greek it became Byzantine Greek χάμω (khámo), with the accent moved and the ending changed after κάτω (káto) and πάνω (páno);^[9][10] Modern Greek χάμω (xámo) means “down, on the ground or floor”.^[9][10]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for “on the ground” and “to the ground”.^[5][6]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it for “on earth”, the home of mortals.^[6][7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of burying in the ground and of words falling to the ground.^[6][5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses “it will not fall to the ground” of words that are not wasted.^[5][6]
• 1st century AD – John's Gospel uses it of spitting on the ground.^[8][5]
• Medieval period – The vernacular form χάμω (khámo) develops, the ancestor of Modern Greek χάμω (xámo).^[9][10]

Meanings

Adverb

1. On the ground.^[5][6]
2. On earth, where mortals live, as opposed to heaven.^[6]
3. In the ground, of something buried; figuratively, buried in silence.^[6][5]
4. To or onto the ground, like χαμᾶζε (khamâze); figuratively, of words that fall to the ground and come to nothing.^[5][6]
5. At ground level, as opposed to in the air or on a roof.^[6]

Word family

• χαμᾶζε (khamâze)
• χαμᾶθεν (khamâthen)
• χαμηλός (khamēlós)
• χαμαίζηλος (khamaízēlos)
• χαμαιπετής (khamaipetḗs)
• χαμαιεύνης (khamaieúnēs)
• χαμαιλέων (khamailéōn)
• χαμαίδρυς (khamaídrūs)
• χαμαιτύπη (khamaitúpē)

Related words

• χθών (khthṓn)
• Latin humus
• Modern Greek χάμω (xámo)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 d e f 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
4. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας