χρὴ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Apparently from a Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁-, *ǵʰreh₁- (“to desire, need”), with relation to other roots uncertain. Traditional theories connecting the root to Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to yearn”) (whence χαίρω (khaírō, “to be cheerful”)) or to Sanskrit हरति (hárati, “to bring, carry”) (which itself is of disputed origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to enclose”) according to de Vaan) are deemed unconvincing by Beekes.^[1]

Originally probably a neuter noun in plural, but used always as a verbal expression by omission of copula ἐστί or "crasis" of χρὴ with it.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kʰrɛ̌ː/ → /xri/ → /xri/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kʰrɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /kʰre̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /xri/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /xri/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /xri/

Verb

χρή • (khrḗ)

1. (impersonal, expressing necessity) have to, ought, should (with accusative of person and present or aorist infinitive)

Inflection

• Present indicative: χρή (khrḗ) (from χρή ἐστι)
• Present infinitive: χρῆναι (khrênai) (from χρὴ εἶναι)
• Imperfect indicative: ἐχρῆν (ekhrên), and originally χρῆν (khrên) (from χρὴ ἦν).
• Present subjuntive: χρῇ (khrêi) (from χρὴ ᾖ).
• Present optative: χρείη (khreíē) (from χρὴ εἴη).
• Present participle, mostly as noun: χρεών (khreṓn) (from χρὴ ὄν > χρηόν > χρεών: transfer of vowel quantity).
• Future indicative: χρήσει (khrḗsei) and originally χρήσται (khrḗstai) (from χρὴ ἔσται, which in some codexes is sometimes erroneously written χρῆσται and even χρῆσθαι).

Related terms

• χράομαι (khráomai)
• χράω (khráō)
• χρέος (khréos)
• χρεία (khreía)
• χρῄζω (khrḗizō)
• χρῆμα (khrêma)
• χρήσιμος (khrḗsimos)
• ἄχρηστος (ákhrēstos)

References

1. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “χρή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1648-9

Further reading

• “χρή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “χρή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “χρή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• χρή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “χρή”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G5534 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • destine idem, page 217.
  • fated idem, page 309.
  • incumbent idem, page 431.
  • necessary idem, page 553.