κομέω
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
κόμη
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
komē
English translation (word)
hair
Transliteration (Etymon)
komeō
English translation (etymon)
take care of
Century
5 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Lexicon, kappa 3440
Ed.
Latte, Hesychii alexandrini lexicon, vol. 2, Copenhague 1966
Quotation
κομεῖν. ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, θεραπεύειν. ὅθεν καὶ κόμη καὶ ἱπποκόμος
Translation (En)
komein “to take care of”: to take care of, to care for. Whence also komē “hair” and hippokomos “squire”
Parallels
Photius, Lexicon, kappa 922 (κομεῖν γὰρ τὸ ἐπιμελείας ἀξιοῦν· καὶ κόμη ἡ ἐπιμελείας τυγχάνουσα θρίξ·); Etymologicum Gudianum, kappa p. 336 (Κόμη, ἡ θρίξ· τὸ κο μικρὸν παρὰ τὸ κομῶ τὸ ἐπιμελοῦμαι, ἐξ οὗ καὶ κομητὴς ἀστήρ)
Modern etymology
Unclear. Borrowed in Latin as coma (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
Κόμη is used in Modern Greek as an erudite form to denote: a) the 'hair' and b) the 'leaves of a tree' (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of MG)
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The etymology relies on the phonetic similarity between the verb and the noun, and on the idea that κόμη is the "well-tended hair", as opposed to τρίχες. It is admitted by some modern etymologists too, who take κόμη as a back-formation from κομάω "to tend, to take care of" (Schwyzer, Gr. Gr. 1, 725)