χέω + ῥᾴδιος
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
Χεῖρες. ἀπὸ τῆς χρήσεως, ὡσανεὶ χρήσιες οὖσαι, ἢ χρεῖαι. οὐδεμία γὰρ τέχνη προκόπτει δίχα χειρῶν. […] ἢ χειαί τινες εἰσὶν, οἷον χωρητική. ὡς δὲ Ἀπολλόδωρος, ἀπὸ τοῦ διϊστᾶν τοὺς δακτύλους, καὶ διέχειν. καὶ χηραμὸς, ἡ κεχηνυῖα.
Translation (En)
Kheires "hands", from the usage, as though they were usages or uses (khreiai). Because no technical skill works without the hands. […] or they are "pouring" (kheiai), as capable of holding. But Apollodorus says the name comes from the fact that the fingers stand apart (diekhein) and at a distance. And also khēramos "hole, lair", the hollow one.
Parallels
Anastasius Sin., Viae dux 2.8 (χεῖρες διὰ τὸ χεῖσθαι ῥᾷον καὶ διὰ τὸ τὴν χρείαν ὑπουργεῖν); Etym. Gudianum, chi, p. 564 (idem); Meletius, De natura hominis, p. 118 (Χεῖρες οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς χρήσεως λέγονται, ὡσανεὶ χρεῖαι οὖσαι· οὐδέμια γὰρ τέχνη προκόπτει δίχα χειρῶν· καθὼς καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς φησὶν, ‘χειρῶν ὀλλυμένων ἔῤῥει πολύεργος Ἀθήνη’· ἢ χεὶρ παρὰ τὸ ῥᾶον χεῖσθαι· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἴσχω τὸ κρατῶ· ἡ ἐπιτήδειος πρὸς τὸ κρατεῖν· ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ διϊστᾶν τοὺς δακτύλους καὶ διαχεῖν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 810 (Χείρ: Παρὰ τὸ ἔχω, τὸ κρατῶ· ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ παρὰ τὸ ῥᾶον χεῖσθαι, ὅ ἐστι χωρεῖσθαι, ἢ διαχέειν); Scholia in Batrachomyomachiam 66 (χείρ ἐτυμολογεῖται ἀπὸ τοῦ χέεσθαι καὶ διήκειν ῥᾷον καὶ εὐκόλως εἰς ὅλα τὰ μέρη τοῦ σώματος· πανταχοῦ γὰρ καὶ εἰς ὅλα τὰ μέρη διήκει ἡ χείρ. ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ χέεσθαι εἰς τὸ ῥέζειν ἤγουν πράττειν. ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴρω τὸ πλέκω εἴρ καὶ χείρ, ἡ συμπεπλεγμένη ὑπὸ τῶν δακτύλων)
Comment
Derivational etymology starting from χεί-, which is one of the allomorphs of χέω. Deriving "hand" from "to pour" requires an explanation, which is given afterwards: the hand is the pouring one because it can contain something. In all other sources the word is parsed as a compound of χέω and ῥᾴδιος, in the form of the comparative ῥᾶον: this is not the case in the main manuscript of Orion, but it maybe because the second part of the etymology was dropped in the process of copying. In the scholion to the Batrachomyomachia, χέω is understood not as active "to pour" but as passive "to move": the explanation says the hand reaches easily any body part.