καίω

Validation

Yes

Word-form

χάος

Transliteration (Word)

khaos

English translation (word)

chaos

Transliteration (Etymon)

kaiō

English translation (etymon)

to burn

Author

Cornutus

Century

1 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

De natura deorum p. 28

Ed.

C. Lang, Cornuti theologiae Graecae compendium, Leipzig, 1881

Quotation

ἔστι δὲ Χάος μὲν τὸ πρὸ τῆς διακοσμήσεως γενόμενον ὑγρόν, ἀπὸ τῆς χύσεως οὕτως ὠνομασμένον, ἢ τὸ πῦρ, ὅ ἐστιν οἱονεὶ κάος

Translation (En)

The word Chaos is the humidity which existed before the creation of the world, thus named because of the pouring (apo tēs khuseōs), or it is fire (pûr), that is, as though it were *kaos "burning"

Comment

This etymology is only half explicit. It derives χάος from a non existing *κάος supposedly meaning "fire" or "burning", which is derived from καίω "to burn" as δἀος "torch" is derived from δαίω "to burn". This etymology is the opposite of the usual one and implies that the primordial element is fire and not water. From the alleged *κάος to χάος a minimal change (by Greek standards) is required, a change of the non aspirate velar stop κ into an aspirate stop χ: the alternation between aspirate and non aspirate was familiar to Greek scholars (because of Grassmann's law in particular), so that this was a natural step for them

Parallels

The etymology is implicit in Plutarch, Mor. 955e: συμφωνεῖ δὲ καὶ Ἡσίοδος εἰπὼν (Th. 116) ‘ἤτοι μὲν πρώτιστα χάος γένετο’· τοῖς πλείστοις γὰρ ὠνομακέναι δοκεῖ τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον παρὰ τὴν χύσιν. ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν τῶν μαρτύρων ἑκατέροις ἴσον· ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ πῦρ εἰσιν οἱ τοῦ παντὸς ἀρχὴν ἀποφαινόμενοι καὶ οἷον σπέρμα τοῦτ’ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ τε πάντα ποιεῖν καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὸ ἐκλαμβάνειν κατὰ τὴν ἐκπύρωσιν  "and Hesiod agrees with him in the words "And first of all came Chaos into being"; for most people believe that this is his name for water because it flows (chysis). Yet the balance of witnesses on both sides seems to be equal. There are, in fact, some who state that fire is the first principle of the universe and, like a seed, creates everything out of itself and receives all things into itself when the conflagration occurs" (transl. Cherniss & Helmbold)

Modern etymology

Probably derived from the root found in χάσκω "to gape" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Χάος is still used in Modern Greek designating 1. the unformed matter from which the world was created (ancient philosophy), 2. the Chaos in Hesiod's cosmology, 3. any situation/condition without order, 4. any immense field of knowledge

Entry By

Le Feuvre