χέω
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
χαίτη
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
khaitē
English translation (word)
mane, hair
Transliteration (Etymon)
kheō
English translation (etymon)
to pour
Century
1 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Lexicon homericum, chi, p. 166
Ed.
I. Bekker, Apollonii Sophistae lexicon Homericum, Berlin, 1833
Quotation
χαῖται αἱ κεχυμέναι κόμαι
Translation (En)
Khaitai "hair" refers to the flowing (kekhumenai) hair
Parallels
Orion, Etymologicum, chi, p. 161 (Χαίτη. κυρίως ἡ ἐκτεταμένη θρίξ. παρὰ τὸ κεχύσθαι); Hesychius, Lexicon, chi 24 (χαῖται· αἱ κεχυμέναι τρίχες [etymology or explanation]).
The etymology is probably implicit in Theocritus, Id. 20.23 χαῖται δ’ οἷα σέλινα περὶ κροτάφοισι κέχυντο.
Modern etymology
Isolated within Greek. Cognates meaning "hair, locks" in Iranian and Celtic although the detail is slightly different (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has χαίτη "mane"
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Derivational etymology relying on Il. 23.282 χαιτάων κατέχευε λοέσσας ὕδατι λευκῷ. The syntagmatic proximity was taken as an etymological figure. It is not entirely clear whether Apollonius intends this as an etymology or only as an explanation, meaning simply that the word is never used for bound hair but only for flowing hair.