χήμη

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Quite uncertain. Taken to be a verbal noun to χάσκω (kháskō, “to yawn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁y- (“to gape, be wide open”). Compare χηλός (khēlós, “coffer”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kʰɛ̌ː.mɛː/ → /ˈçi.mi/ → /ˈçi.mi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kʰɛ̌ː.mɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰe̝.me̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.mi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.mi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈçi.mi/

Noun

χήμη • (khḗmē) f (genitive χήμης); first declension

1. yawning, gaping
2. clam or mussel
3. kind of measure

Inflection

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ χήμη hē khḗmē	τὼ χήμᾱ tṑ khḗmā	αἱ χῆμαι hai khêmai
Genitive	τῆς χήμης tês khḗmēs	τοῖν χήμαιν toîn khḗmain	τῶν χημῶν tôn khēmôn
Dative	τῇ χήμῃ têi khḗmēi	τοῖν χήμαιν toîn khḗmain	ταῖς χήμαις taîs khḗmais
Accusative	τὴν χήμην tḕn khḗmēn	τὼ χήμᾱ tṑ khḗmā	τᾱ̀ς χήμᾱς tā̀s khḗmās
Vocative	χήμη khḗmē	χήμᾱ khḗmā	χῆμαι khêmai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First declension of ἡ χήμη; τῆς χήμης (Attic)

Derived terms

• χημῐ́ον (khēmíon)
• χήμωσῐς (khḗmōsis)

 

Descendants

• → Latin: chēma

Further reading

• “χήμη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• χήμη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN