χήρα

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• χήρη (khḗrē) — Ionic

Etymology

This word replaced the old word for "widow" found in Latin vidua; a cognate of this is retained in ἠΐθεος (ēḯtheos, “unmarried youth”). It is assumed that the origin of this word is Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁ro- (“derelict”), from the root *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave behind, abandon”); compare Sanskrit जहाति (jahāti, “to desert, leave, resign”) and Latin hērēs (“heir”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kʰɛ̌ː.raː/ → /ˈçi.ra/ → /ˈçi.ra/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kʰɛ̌ː.raː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰe̝.ra/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.ra/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.ra/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.ra/

Noun

χήρᾱ • (khḗrā) f (genitive χήρᾱς); first declension

1. widow

Declension

First declension of ἡ χήρᾱ; τῆς χήρᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ χήρᾱ hē khḗrā	τὼ χήρᾱ tṑ khḗrā	αἱ χῆραι hai khêrai
Genitive	τῆς χήρᾱς tês khḗrās	τοῖν χήραιν toîn khḗrain	τῶν χηρῶν tôn khērôn
Dative	τῇ χήρᾳ têi khḗrāi	τοῖν χήραιν toîn khḗrain	ταῖς χήραις taîs khḗrais
Accusative	τὴν χήρᾱν tḕn khḗrān	τὼ χήρᾱ tṑ khḗrā	τᾱ̀ς χήρᾱς tā̀s khḗrās
Vocative	χήρᾱ khḗrā	χήρᾱ khḗrā	χῆραι khêrai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• χῆρος (khêros)

Descendants

• Greek: χήρα (chíra)
• Pontic Greek: χ̌έρα (šéra), χ̌όρα (šóra)
• → Laz: შირა (şira)

Further reading

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

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek χήρα (khḗra), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁ro- (“derelict”), from the root *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave behind, abandon”). Cognate with Latin heres.

Noun

χήρα • (chíra) f (plural χήρες, masculine χήρος)

1. widow, relict

Declension

Declension of χήρα

	singular	plural
nominative	χήρα •	χήρες •
genitive	χήρας •	χηρών •
accusative	χήρα •	χήρες •
vocative	χήρα •	χήρες •