μάχη + χαίρω
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
μάχαιρα
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
makhaira
English translation (word)
dagger, knife
Transliteration (Etymon)
makhē + khairō
English translation (etymon)
battle + rejoice
Century
9 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Epimerismi in Psalmos p. 150
Ed.
T. Gaisford, Georgii Choerobosci epimerismi in Psalmos, vol. 3, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1842: 1-192.
Quotation
μάχαιρα, παρὰ τὸ ἀεὶ μαχαίρειν (μάχῃ χαίρειν), ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐν τῇ μάχῃ αἴρεσθαι
Translation (En)
"Dagger" (makhaira) is from the fact that it always rejoices (khairein) in fighting (makhēi), or from the fact that it is seized in battle
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 574 (Ἐτυμολογεῖται παρὰ τὸ ἐν τῇ μάχῃ αἴρεσθαι .... παρὰ τὸ ἐν αἵματι χαίρειν: "to rejoice in blood" is obviously a reformulation of the etymology transmitted by Choeroboscus "to rejoice in battle", but the motivation is lost through this reformulation, since αἷμα cannot account for the initial μα-)
Modern etymology
Unclear
Persistence in Modern Greek
Μάχαιρα is sometimes used in Modern Greek as an erudite form of μαχαίρι "knife" (neuter), from the old diminutive μαχαίριον (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of Modern Greek)
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The word is parsed as a compound, as in the competing etymology. The form as transmitted is corrupt, the full compound implies a haplology μάχῃ χαίρειν > *μαχαίρειν > μάχαιρα. The etymology is paronymic, it starts from the sequence [khair] and then tries to find a potential first element explaining [ma]. It may be seen as a descriptive etymology