διέχω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
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
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)
Comment
Derivational descriptive etymology, referring to one physical characteristic of the hand that the fingers are independent from each other, which is not the case in the paw of an animal. It implies a heavy formal manipulation, deletion of the preverb and of the initial vowel of the stem, but for Greek grammarians it was only dropping the beginning of the etymon, which was not uncommon, hence [diekhein] > [khei]. It is likely that this explanation underlies the etymologies by διαχέω (διαχεῖν) in later sources who misunderstood it and related it erroneously to the competing etymology by χέω (see χείρ / χέω + ῥᾴδιος).