χερμάς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *kʰermáts. Connected with χείρ (kheír, “hand”) by ancient sources, this word reminds of χέρμα (khérma, “pebble”) and χέραδος (khérados, “silt, gravel”), which are also unclear. If the word belongs to χέραδος (khérados), it is probably Pre-Greek. Otherwise, it may be from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰer- along with χέρμα (khérma) and κέγχρος (kénkhros). The formally unobjectionable connection with Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰarmyám (“permanent house, building”) remains hypothetical because of the meaning.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kʰer.más/ → /çerˈmas/ → /çerˈmas/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kʰer.más/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /kʰerˈmas/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /çerˈmas/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /çerˈmas/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /çerˈmas/

Noun

χερμᾰ́ς • (khermás) f (genitive χερμᾰ́δος); third declension

1. large pebble or stone, especially for throwing or slinging, slingstone

   Synonym: σφενδόνη (sphendónē)

2. (in later poets) large block of stone

Declension

Third declension of ἡ χερμᾰ́ς; τῆς χερμᾰ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ χερμᾰ́ς hē khermás	τὼ χερμᾰ́δε tṑ khermáde	αἱ χερμᾰ́δες hai khermádes
Genitive	τῆς χερμᾰ́δος tês khermádos	τοῖν χερμᾰ́δοιν toîn khermádoin	τῶν χερμᾰ́δων tôn khermádōn
Dative	τῇ χερμᾰ́δῐ têi khermádi	τοῖν χερμᾰ́δοιν toîn khermádoin	ταῖς χερμᾰ́σῐ / χερμᾰ́σῐν taîs khermási(n)
Accusative	τὴν χερμᾰ́δᾰ tḕn khermáda	τὼ χερμᾰ́δε tṑ khermáde	τᾱ̀ς χερμᾰ́δᾰς tā̀s khermádas
Vocative	χερμᾰ́ς khermás	χερμᾰ́δε khermáde	χερμᾰ́δες khermádes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ds.

Derived terms

• χερμᾰ́δῐον (khermádion)
• χερμᾰ́δῐος (khermádios)
• χερμᾰ́ζω (khermázō)
• χερμᾰστήρ (khermastḗr)
• χερμᾰ́τής (khermátḗs)
• χερμᾰτῐστής (khermatistḗs)

 

Further reading

• “χερμάς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “χερμάς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• χερμάς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “χερμάς”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1626