χάρμα

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Word-form

χάρμη

Transliteration (Word)

kharmē

English translation (word)

battle

Transliteration (Etymon)

kharma

English translation (etymon)

joy

Author

Apion

Century

1 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Fragmenta de glossis homericis, p. 102

Ed.

A. Ludwich, "Über die homerischen Glossen Apions," Philologus 75 (1919) 95-103

Quotation

χάρμη· χαρά. μάχη

Translation (En)

Kharmē "battle": joy (khara). Battle (makhē)

Comment

Derivational etymology. In our sources the etymon is now χάρμα "joy", now χαρά "joy". It is likely that the derivation chain, in the mind of a Greek etymologist, was χαρά → χάρμα → χάρμη. This is the reason why the etymon is here identified as χάρμα, the intermediate step between χαρά χάρμη. This is a purely paronymic etymology, for which various justifications were provided. For some, the battle is joyful for brave warriors; a variant of this etymology is that it is a joy for the winner; but some understand this as an antiphrasis, that is, an etymology a contrario (enantiosemy): the battle is what in which no one can rejoice. This etymology seeks a confirmation in Homer's line χάρμῃ γηθόσυνοι, τήν σφιν θεὸς ἔμβαλε θυμῷ (Il. 13.82) "they were rejoicing about the battle that the goddess had put in their hearts", mentioned by Eustathius (Comm. Il., vol. 3, p. 442). It is probably not an implicit etymology in Homer, but at any rate the fact that χάρμη and γηθόσυνος "joyful" are associated in the same phrase was a reason for Greek scholars to see this as an etymology. Other Homeric lines were used for the same purpose (see Eustathius)

Parallels

A Schol. Il. 13.82a (χάρμῃ γηθόσυνοι: χαίροντες τῇ μάχῃ. ἔστι δὲ ὅτε δηλοῖ ἡ λέξις καὶ τὸ χαίρειν τῇ εἰς μάχην παραθήξει, παρὰ τὸ χαράσσειν· τὴν γὰρ χαράν, ὥς φησιν †ἀριστείδης†, οὐδετέρως ἀεὶ λέγει χάρμα); T Schol. Il. 1.82c1 (ἄλλως· χάρμῃ τῇ μάχῃ· τὴν γὰρ χαρὰν χάρμα φησίν. καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἐπήγαγε γηθόσυνοι, εἰ τὴν χαρὰν ἐδήλου); b Schol. Il. 13,82c2|b2 (χάρμῃ τῇ μάχῃ· ἡ γὰρ χαρὰ χάρμα καλεῖται. | νῦν δέ, ὡς Ἀρίσταρχος, τῇ εἰς τὸν πόλεμον προθυμίᾳ.); D Schol. Il. 4.222 (Χάρμης. Τοῦ πολέμου. Χάρμη γὰρ ἡ μάχη, ἤτοι κατὰ ἐναντιότητα, ἢ ἡ χαρὰν ἐμποιοῦσα τοῖς νικῶσιν); D Schol. Il. 4.509 (Χάρμης. Μάχης. κατὰ ἀντίφρασιν. οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ χαίρει); Geneva Schol. Il. 4.509 (idem); Hesychius, Lexicon, iota 808 (ἱππιοχάρμης· ὁ ἐφ’ ἵπποις χαίρων, ἢ μαχόμενος· χάρμη γὰρ ἡ μετὰ χαρᾶς μάχη); ibid., chi 203 (χάρμη· ἡ μετὰ χαρᾶς μάχη); Etym. Gudianum, mu, p. 396 (Μνήσαντο, μνήμην ἐποιοῦντο τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τῆς χάρμης· χάρμη δὲ ἡ μάχη, ἤτοι κατὰ ἐναντιότητα, ἡ χαρὰν ἐμποιοῦσα τοῖς νικῶσι); ibid., chi, p. 562 (Χάρμη, ἡ μάχη· ἔστι δὲ ὅτε δηλοῖ ἡ λέξις, καὶ τὸ χαίρειν τῇ μάχῃ, παρὰ τὸ χαράσσω· τὴν γὰρ χαρὰν, ὡς φησὶ καὶ Ἀριστίδης· χάρμα λέγεται οὐδετέρως); Eustathius, Comm. Il., vol. 1, p. 142 (τουτέστι θανάτῳ εἰκάζεται ὑπὸ σοῦ ἡ κινδυνώδης μάχη καὶ οὐ χαίρεις ἐπ’ αὐτῇ ὡς χάρμῃ); ibid., vol. 2, p. 441 (Εἰ δὲ χαίρει ἐνταῦθα ὁ Αἴας τῇ πρὸς Ἕκτορα μάχῃ, ἔχομεν καὶ νῦν ἀφορμὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἐτυμολογεῖν τὴν χάρμην, ὅ ἐστι τὴν μάχην, ὡς τῶν ἀνδρείων χαιρόντων αὐτῇ); ibid., vol. 2, p. 465 (Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου χαίρειν, ὡς καὶ προεδηλώθη, καὶ ἡ χάρμη, κατὰ δέ τινας καὶ ἡ μάχη παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἄχνυσθαι. πάντως γὰρ ἐλπίδι τῆς κατὰ τὴν νίκην χαρᾶς ἡ μάχη συνίσταται); ibid., vol. 3, p. 442 (Ὅτι ἐν τῷ «χάρμῃ γηθόσυνοι, τήν σφιν θεὸς ἔμβαλε θυμῷ»—περὶ δὲ τῶν Αἰάντων ὁ λόγος οἰκεῖος ὢν ἐπὶ θαρραλέων στρατιωτῶν λέγεσθαι—ἔοικε τὸ γηθόσυνοι ἐτυμολογία τις εἶναι τῆς χάρμης. Γεγηθέναι γὰρ καὶ χαίρειν ταὐτά εἰσιν, ὥστε λέγοιτο ἂν ἡ μάχη χάρμη οὐ μόνον κατὰ ἀντίφρασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κυρίως, ἐπεὶ χαίρουσιν οἱ ἀνδρεῖοι ἀμυνόμενοι. διό τινες οὐδὲ τὴν μάχην αὐτὴν χάρμην φασίν, ἀλλὰ τὴν εἰς μάχην προθυμίαν. καὶ ἄλλως δέ, ἡ μάχη μετὰ θυμοῦ, ὁ δὲ θυμὸς μέλιτος γλυκίων καταλειβομένου τῷ θυμουμένῳ γίνεται. Εἴη ἂν οὖν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡ μάχη χάρμη λεγομένη, τουτέστι χάρμα τι καὶ χαρὰ διὰ τὴν ῥηθεῖσαν οἷον γλυκύτητα, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ βρῶμα βρώμη λέγεται ποιητικώτερον); ibid., vol. 3, p. 597 («μάχην ἀνὰ κυδιάνειραν, χαῖρε δὲ θυμῷ». καὶ εἴη ἂν καὶ τῷ τοιούτῳ προσώπῳ ἡ μάχη χάρμη ἀληθῶς); ibid., vol. 4, p. 173 (Τὸ δέ «χαίρεσκον ἐπὶ νησὶν ἰαύων» τὴν ἀληθῶς χάρμην καὶ αὐτὸ παρετυμολογεῖ, καθ’ ἣν δηλαδὴ χαίρουσιν οἱ πολεμοῦντες); Eustathius, Comm. Od., vol. 1, p. 410 (ἱππιοχάρμην, ἤγουν ὡς καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ ἐῤῥέθη, ἵπποις χαίροντα, ἢ ἐφ’ ἵππων ποιούμενον χάρμην, ὃ δηλοῖ τὴν μετὰ χαρᾶς μάχην); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 807 (Χάρμη: Μάχη, κατ’ εὐφημισμόν· ἢ ἐφ’ ᾗ οὐδεὶς χαίρει); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, chi, p. 1843 (Χάρμη. ἡ μάχῃ. κατ’ εὐφημισμόν); Schol. Pind. O. 9, 119-133 (ἔπειτα (128) δὲ ἄλλαι δύο χάρμαι, ἤγουν χαραὶ νίκης, ἀντὶ τοῦ νῖκαι)

Bibliography

The correct etymology has been published by M. Janda, Purpurnes Meer. Sprache und Kultur der homerischen Welt. Innsbruck 2014, p. 131-143. Χάρμη "battle" is the zero grade of the root found in χρεμετίζω "to whinny". Within Greek, other derivatives are χρόμος· ψόφος ποιός. Οἱ δὲ χρεμετισμός “kind of noise; but for others, whinnying” (Hsch., χ 757), χρόμη· φρυαγμός, ὁρμή, θράσος “neighing, impulse, boldness” (Hsch., χ 753), χρόμις, name of a fish, χρόμαδος (γενύων) (Il. 23.688) ‘gnashing’, as well as words meaning ‘to cough’ in the medical vocabulary. The PIE root is *ghrem- ‘to thunder, to rumble’, with cognates in Baltic and Slavic: Lith. grumė́ti ‘to thunder’, OCS grъměti ‘to thunder’, both from *ghr̥m-eh1-, OCS gromъ ‘thunder’, “which formally matches χρόμος” (Beekes, EDG). Other cognates are found in Germanic, Goth. gramjan ‘to get angry’, OHG grim ‘cruel’, gram ‘wrathful’. To quote Beekes, “Germanic has several expressions for anger and grumbling, which must originally have referred to sounds like droning, gnashing the teeth, etc.” and “The same meaning is encountered in Av. graməṇtąm ‘of those who are wrathful to us’.” The original meaning of χάρμη is therefore "battle din" or "war cry, war clamor".

Modern etymology

In spite of all modern dictionaries that repeat this Greek etymology, χάρμη has nothing to to with χαίρω. See the detail in Bibliography (above)

Persistence in Modern Greek

No

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