χλιαίνω

Word

Validation

Yes

Word-form

χλαῖνα

Word-lemma

LSJ

Etymon-lemma

LSJ

Transliteration (Word)

khlaina

English translation (word)

cloak

Transliteration (Etymon)

khliainō

English translation (etymon)

to warm up

Author

Apollonius Soph.

Century

1 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Lexicon homericum, p. 168

Ed.

I. Bekker, Apollonii Sophistae lexicon Homericum, Berlin, 1833

Quotation

χλαῖνα ἱμάτιον. κυρίως δὲ τὸ χειμερινόν, παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν

Translation (En)

Khlaina "cloak" means "coat", and it refers properly to the winter coat. From khliainein "to warm up"

Comment

Functional etymology which is fairly simple from the formal point of view and implies only one manipulation, deletion of the [I]. It is repeated throughout Antiquity down to the Byzantine lexica.  The relationship between χλαῖνα and χλανίς "light coat" was clear to the Greeks, but they never etymologize χλανίς as derived from χλιαίνω since they define it as a "light coat" (Epimerismi Homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, chi 4, χ⸤λ⸥ανὶς δὲ τὸ λεπτότατον καὶ τρυφερὸν ἱμάτιον)

Parallels

Herodian, De prosodia catholica, Lentz III/1, p. 108 (ap. Epimerismi homerici, ordine alphabetico traditi, lambda 38) (ὡς καὶ ὁ τάπης παρὰ τὸ θάλπη, εἴ γε παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν ἡ χλαίνη); idem, Peri orthographias, Lentz III/2, p. 606 (χλαῖνα αι δίφθογγος ἡ χλαμύς. παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν, ὅ ἐστι θερμαίνειν); Orion, Etymologicum, chi p. 166 (Χλαῖνα. παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν, ὅ ἐστι θερμαίνειν. Ἡρωδιανὸς ἐν Ἐπιμερισμοῖς); Etym. Gudianum, chi p. 567 (idem); Hesychius, Lexicon, chi 489 (χλαῖνα· χλανίς, ἢ ἱμάτιον χειμερινόν, ἀπὸ τοῦ χλιαίνειν, ὅ ἐστι θερμαίνειν); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, delta 71 (γίνεται δὲ ἔλλειψις τοῦ ι· καὶ ὥσπερ παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνω χλίαινος καὶ χλαῖνα, οὕτως Διός διεύω καὶ δεύω); Suda, chi 335 (Χλαῖνα: τὸ παχὺ καὶ χειμερινὸν ἱμάτιον. παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνω); Eustathius, Comm. Il. 3, 840 (καὶ ὅτι αἱ χλαῖναι χιτώνων παχύτεραι. διὸ καὶ ἀνεμοσκεπέες λέγονται, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ χλιαίνεσθαι παρετυμολογοῦνται); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 812 (Χλαῖνα: Παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν, ὅ ἐστι θερμαίνειν, χλίαινα καὶ χλαῖνα); Etym. Symeonis, epsilon 886 (χλαῖνα γὰρ λέγεται παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν, τὸ θερμαίνειν οἱονεὶ χλίαινά τις οὖσα); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, chi, p. 1855 (Χλαῖνα. τὸ χειμερινὸν ἱμάτιον. παρὰ τὸ χλιαίνειν); Schol. γ 349c Pontani (χλαῖναι] ἐκ τοῦ “χλιαίνω” τὸ θερμαίνω).

The etymology is implicit in an epigram of the Anthology (Anth. Gr. 5, 165, 3-4), attributed to Meleager (2/1 BCE): εἴ τις ὑπὸ χλαίνῃ βεβλημένος Ἡλιοδώρας / θάλπεται, ὑπναπάτῃ χρωτὶ χλιαινόμενος. If the epigram is really by Meleager, the etymology is anterior to Apollonius

Modern etymology

Χλαῖνα is probably a derivative from χλαμύς "tunic", but has no known cognate outside Greek (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Modern Greek has χλαίνη to designate: 1. 'a thick fabric that ancient Greeks wore above their clothes' and 2. 'a warm long military coat', especially of the Greek soldiers of the Second World War.

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