κήρ: Difference between revisions

{{etym

|etymtx=κηρός<br />Grammatical information: f.<br />Meaning: [[death]], [[doom]], often personified <b class="b2">goddess or demon of death</b> (Il.), in plur. <b class="b2">types of death, accidents</b>; see Nilsson Gr. Rel. 1, 222ff., v. Wilamowitz Glaube 1, 271ff.<br />Compounds: Compp. z. B. <b class="b3">κηρεσσι-φόρητος</b> <b class="b2">by the Keres driven (into death)</b> (Q 527; Schwyzer 446, Pfister Würzb. Jb. 3, 406f.), <b class="b3">κηρι-τρεφεῖς</b> <b class="b2">brought up for death</b> (<b class="b3">ἄνθρωποι</b>, Hes. Op. 418), <b class="b3">κηρο-τρόφος</b> <b class="b2">feeding death, deadly</b> (<b class="b3">ὄφις</b>, Nic. Th. 192); <b class="b3">ἐπί-κηρος</b> <b class="b2">fallen to death</b> (Hp., Arist., hell.); also <b class="b3">ἀ-κήρ-ατος</b> with <b class="b3">ἀκηράσιος</b> and <b class="b3">ἀ-κήρ-ιος</b> [[unharmed]], s. 1. <b class="b3">ἀκήρατος</b> and Sommer Nominalkomp. 152 .<br />Derivatives: <b class="b3">κηρέσιον ὀλέθριον</b>, <b class="b3">νοσηρόν</b> H. (after <b class="b3">θεσπέσιος</b>); <b class="b3">κηραίνω</b> [[damage]], [[destroy]] (A. Supp. 999, Ph.; after <b class="b3">πημαίνω</b>), <b class="b3">κηρόομαι</b> <b class="b2">be injured</b> (EM).<br />Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]<br />Etymology: A root noun, which has been derived from <b class="b3">κεραΐζω</b>; Sanskrit and Celtic have a root aorist (s. on [[κεραΐζω]]); so <b class="b3">κήρ</b> would prop. be an agent noun "the destroyer". The disyll. root however, is a problem: we would expect <b class="b3">*κηρας</b> (cf. <b class="b3">γῆρας</b> < <b class="b2">*ǵerh₂-s</b>). Problematic is further the long vowel <b class="b3">α</b> in Alc. (<b class="b3">κᾶρι</b> B 6 A 7) and Alcm. (<b class="b3">κᾶρα</b> Fr. 56; trad. <b class="b3">κάραν</b>), PGr. <b class="b3">*κάρ</b> (cf. <b class="b3">κάρ θάνατος</b> H.). Also <b class="b3">καριῶσαι ἀποκτεῖναι</b> and <b class="b3">ἐκαρίωσας ἀπέκτεινας</b> H. have <b class="b3">α</b> which will have been long (there is no evidence for short <b class="b3">α</b>. Then we have the old Attic saying <b class="b3">θύραζε Κᾶρες</b>, <b class="b3">οὑκ ἔτ</b>' <b class="b3">Ἀνθεστήρια</b>. That <b class="b3">Κᾶρες</b> meant [[Carians]], i.e. [[slaves]] is clearly an aetological story invented to explain the <b class="b3">α</b>. See also Brunel PPh. 41 (1967) 81-104.) Opposed to <b class="b3">κᾶρι</b>, <b class="b3">κᾶρα</b> in Alc. and Alcm. stand <b class="b3">κῆρες</b> and <b class="b3">κήρ</b> both in Pi. Fr. 277 and in the choral songs of the tragedy. The suggestion of an ablauting paradigm <b class="b3">κήρ</b>, <b class="b3">*καρός</b> (not retained in <b class="b3">ἐν καρὸς αἴσῃ</b>, s. <b class="b3">καρός</b>) with a secondary nom. <b class="b3">*κάρ</b> (Ehrlich Sprachgesch. 9f.) cannot be maintained. The conclusion is that the long <b class="b3">α</b> is original; the <b class="b3">η</b> is simply the IA development of the long <b class="b3">α</b> (which was spread over a larger area). The word, then, is Pre-Greek, as may be expected for such an archaic idea: there is no IE root <b class="b2">*kar-</b>. Beekes, xxx, 200x, ppp - ppp. Lee Glotta 39 (1961) 191-207 and Ramat Arch. glottol. it. 50 (1965) 137ff. derive the word from <b class="b3">κείρω</b>, which is hardly probable.

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