κῆρ + ἥδομαι
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
Κέρδος, παρὰ τὸ χεὶρ χερὸς χέρδος καὶ κέρδος· κυρίως δὲ τὸ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν διδόμενον ἐπ’ ὠφελείᾳ· ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ παρὰ τὸ κέαρ[ον] καὶ τὸ ἅδω τὸ ἀρέσκω. τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν εὐφραῖνον· ἢ παρὰ τὸ κέαρ καὶ τὸ ἡδύ.
Translation (En)
Kerdos "profit": from kheir, kheros "hand", *kherdos and kerdos; it refers properly to what is given in the hands as a benefit. There is also another etymology, from kear "heart" and hadō "to please", that which rejoices the soul. Or from kear "heart" and hēdu "pleasing".
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 505 (idem); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 1, 96 Van der Valk (Ὅρα δὲ ἐν τῷ κρήγυον, εἴπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ κῆρ ἥδειν ἤγουν ψυχὴν εὐφραίνειν γίνεται, ὡς ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐτυμολογίας καὶ τὸ κέρδος γενόμενον, ἐπεὶ τὸ κέαρ ἡδύνει, ὅμως διαφορὰν πρὸς τὸ κρήγυον ἔχει πολλήν); ibid., 4, 610 (ὅτι δὲ κέρδος, εἰ καὶ διάφορόν ἐστι πρὸς τὸ κρήγυον, ὅμως ἀπὸ τοῦ τὸ κέαρ ἥδειν γίνεται, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο ἀπὸ τοῦ κῆρ ἡδύνειν, οὐδ’ αὐτὸ ἄκαιρον ἄρτι φάναι); Scholia in Euripidis Hecubam 518 (τὸ κερδᾶναι γίνεται ἀπὸ τοῦ κέρδος, τὸ δὲ κέρδος ἀπὸ τοῦ τὸ κέαρ ἡδαίνειν καὶ εὐφραίνειν).
Comment
Compositional etymology identifying the first element with the Homeric name of the heart, κῆρ, under a pseudo-archaic spelling κέαρ. The second element is parsed either as the adjective ἡδύς "sweet" or as the verb ἥδομαι "to rejoice" or ἁνδάνω "to please". In the formulation of the Gudianum it is ἁνδάνω, in others (see Parallels) it is ἥδομαι. In both cases the etymology implies the loss of the initial vowel of the second element. This etymology goes together with the etymology of κερδαίνω by κῆρ + ἰαίνω, which implies the same analysis of the first element.