κείρω
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
κάρα
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
kara
English translation (word)
head
Transliteration (Etymon)
keirō
English translation (etymon)
to cut, to shave
Century
9 AD
Source
idem
Ref.
Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, kappa 122
Ed.
A. Dyck, Epimerismi Homerici: Pars altera. Lexicon αἱμωδεῖν. Berlin – New York, 1995
Quotation
κάρα: παρὰ τὸ κείρω, τὸ κόπτω· ἡ κειρομένη διὰ τὸ τετριχῶσθαι <μᾶλλον> τῶν ἄλλων μερῶν τοῦ σώματος.
Translation (En)
Kara "head": from keirō "to shave": that which is shaved because it has more hair than the other parts of the body
Parallels
Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, kappa 3 (τὸ δὲ κάρα γίνεται ἐκ τοῦ κ⸥έρας, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν τρίχα, ⸤καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ α εἰς η Ἰωνικῶς γί⸥νεται κάρη· ἢ παρὰ τὸ κείρω ἔκαρον); Joannes Mauropus, Etymologica nominum 153-154 (Αἴρει κόρας μὲν οἷα πυρσοὺς ἡ κάρα | καὶ κείρεται δὲ τῶν μελῶν πάντων μόνη)
Modern etymology
Κάρα belongs with κέρας, both are derived from a PIE *kerh2 -s- meaning "head" (Beekes)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has κάρα as a learned word referring to the head of a relic
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Derivational etymology which is in fact derived from the etymology of κάρα by κέρας (see κάρα / κέρας): since κέρας itself is etymologized from κείρω "to cut", the etymon of the etymon (κείρω etymon of κέρας itself etymon of κάρα) was directly related to the lemma. This is not rare in etymological works. The head is in both cases defined by the hair, either because it is hairy or because, as hairy, it must be shaved.