χείρων

See also: Χείρων

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

χερείων (khereíōn) — Homeric

Etymology

Suppletive comparative of κακός (kakós, “bad”), from an element χερ- (kher-) of disputed origin + comparative suffix -ίων (-íōn). The traditional derivation from a Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰres-, *ǵʰers- (“short”), whence Sanskrit ह्रस् (hras, “to become short”), Middle Irish gerr (“short”), is rejected by Beekes, who additionally dismisses Machek's suggestion of Proto-Slavic *gořьjь (“worse”) as cognate, and leaves the origin open.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kʰěː.rɔːn/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰi.ron/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.ron/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.ron/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.ron/

Adjective

χείρων • (kheírōn) m or f (neuter χεῖρον); third declension

worse in quality, inferior
1. (of men) less brave, lower in rank
(with negative οὐδὲν (oudèn)) no worse: just as good
- c. 385 BCE, Plato, Meno 97b:
  καὶ ἕως γ’ ἄν που ὀρθὴν δόξαν ἔχῃ περὶ ὧν ὁ ἕτερος ἐπιστήμην, οὐδὲν χείρων ἡγεμὼν ἔσται […] .
  kaì héōs g’ án pou orthḕn dóxan ékhēi perì hôn ho héteros epistḗmēn, oudèn kheírōn hēgemṑn éstai […] .
  And as long as he has the right opinion about what the other man has actual knowledge, he will be no worse a guide […] .

Declension

Third declension of χείρων; χεῖρον (Attic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	χείρων kheírōn		χεῖρον kheîron	χείρονε kheírone		χείρονε kheírone	χείρονες χείρους kheírones kheírous		χείρονᾰ χείρω kheíronă kheírō
Genitive	χείρονος kheíronos		χείρονος kheíronos	χειρόνοιν kheirónoin		χειρόνοιν kheirónoin	χειρόνων kheirónōn		χειρόνων kheirónōn
Dative	χείρονῐ kheíronĭ		χείρονῐ kheíronĭ	χειρόνοιν kheirónoin		χειρόνοιν kheirónoin	χείροσῐ χείροσῐν kheírosĭ(n)		χείροσῐ χείροσῐν kheírosĭ(n)
Accusative	χείρονᾰ χείρω kheíronă kheírō		χεῖρον kheîron	χείρονε kheírone		χείρονε kheírone	χείρονᾰς χείρους kheíronăs kheírous		χείρονᾰ χείρω kheíronă kheírō
Vocative	χεῖρον kheîron		χεῖρον kheîron	χείρονε kheírone		χείρονε kheírone	χείρονες χείρους kheírones kheírous		χείρονᾰ χείρω kheíronă kheírō
Derived forms	Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
Derived forms	χεῖρον kheîron			—			—
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Antonyms

ἀρείων (areíōn)
βελτίων (beltíōn)
ἀμείνων (ameínōn)
κρείσσων (kreíssōn)

Related terms

χείριστος (kheíristos) — superlative

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “χείρων”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1622

“χείρων”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“χείρων”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“χείρων”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
χείρων in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
χείρων in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
“χείρων”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G5501 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- cheiron idem, page 129.
- decadent idem, page 199.
- degenerate idem, page 206.
- inferior idem, page 437.
- lower idem, page 503.
- may idem, page 519.
- second idem, page 746.
- subordinate idem, page 831.
- worse idem, page 990.
χείρων, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “χείρων”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1622

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