χεῖλος

Forms

χεῖλος (kheîlos) n (genitive χείλεος or χείλους); third declension^[1] Doric χῆλος, Aeolic χέλλος.^[2]

Etymology

There is no convincing etymology.^[3][1] The dialect forms, Doric χῆλος (khêlos) and Aeolic χέλλος (khéllos), point to a pre-form *χέσλος (*khéslos) or *χέλσος (*khélsos), perhaps *χέλνος (*khélnos).^[3][2] The traditional derivation from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (“to shout”), with a comparison with Old Norse gjǫlnar (“moustache, bearded lips”) and Old Armenian ձեղուն (jełun, “palate, ceiling”), is unconvincing.^[1][3] Beekes compares χελύνη (khelúnē, “lip”); χελώνη (khelṓnē, “tortoise”) is often associated with it, but is probably not related.^[3][1]

Ancient grammarians derived it from χέω (khéō, “to pour”), because food or words pour through the lips.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for the lips of a person and for the rim of a vessel and the edge of a ditch.^[5][2][6] In the Iliad Hera laughs “with her lips” only, and a beggar's cup only wets the lips and not the palate.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Lips were the seat of speech set against the heart: Plutarch contrasts words “from the lips” with those from the heart, and the New Testament uses it the same way.^[2][5] By resemblance it named the rim of a bowl or jar, the edge of a ditch, the bank of a river, and in Polybius a spit of land,^[5][2] while Callimachus uses it for a bird's beak.^[5][2]

Today's everyday word is Modern Greek χείλι (cheíli), which comes through medieval forms from the plural; Modern Greek χείλος (cheílos) is a learned form.^[7][8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for lips and the edge of a ditch.^[5][2]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it in the Works and Days.^[6][9]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for the rim of a vessel and the bank of a moat.^[5][9]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for a spit of land.^[5][9]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek χείλι (cheíli) is the usual word, and Modern Greek χείλος (cheílos) is learned.^[7][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lip, usually in the plural; the lips as the source of insincere speech or laughter.^[5][2]
2. The lip of a horse; the beak of a bird.^[5]
3. The lip, brim or rim of a vessel or basket.^[5][2]
4. The edge of a ditch; the bank of a moat or river.^[5]
5. A tongue or spit of land between two waters.^[5]

Word family

• ὀνόχειλος (onókheilos)
• χειλοφύλαξ (kheilophúlax)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ 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
4. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge