καλός

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• κᾱ́λος (kā́los) — Aeolic
• καλϝός (kalwós) — Boeotian

Etymology

From earlier καλϝός (kalwós), from Proto-Indo-European *kal-wo-s, form of *kal- (“beautiful”).

Cognate to Sanskrit कल्य (kalya), Sanskrit कल्याण (kalyā́ṇa), Albanian kolmë.

Pronunciation

In most cases:

In epic poetry and in some other cases:

Adjective

καλός • (kalós) m (feminine καλή, neuter καλόν); first/second declension

1. beautiful, lovely
2. good, quality, useful
3. good, right, moral, virtuous, noble

Usage notes

In epic and early iambic poetry, this word almost always has a long (heavy) first syllable. This was originally a consequence of the digamma — καλϝός (kalwós) — which resulted in a syllable ending in a consonant: /kal.ˈwos/. But, once the digamma was lost, the heavy syllable was reanalyzed as being the consequence of a long vowel in the first syllable: κᾱλός (kālós).

• 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.96–97:

  ὣς εἰποῦσ’ ὑπὸ ποσσὶν ἐδήσατο κᾱλὰ πέδῑλα,
  ἀμβρόσια χρῡ́σεια,

  hṑs eipoûs’ hupò possìn edḗsato kālà [= kalwá] pédīla,
  ambrósia khrū́seia,

  So saying, she tied beautiful immortal golden sandals under her feet,

In lyric poetry and tragedy, the α is short; in elegiac, epigrammatic, and bucolic poets it is variable.

Inflection

Derived terms

• καλόπους (kalópous, “having beautiful feet”)

Related terms

• κάλλος (kállos)

Descendants

• Greek: καλός (kalós, “good”)
• Arabic: قالون (“Qālūn”)

References

• “καλός, ή, όν”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “καλός”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “καλός”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• καλός in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• καλός in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “καλός”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2570 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• καλός in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • admirable idem, page 12.
  • artistic idem, page 42.
  • auspicious idem, page 53.
  • beautiful idem, page 68.
  • buxom idem, page 107.
  • capital idem, page 111.
  • comely idem, page 145.
  • creditable idem, page 183.
  • elegant idem, page 265.
  • estimable idem, page 283.
  • excellent idem, page 288.
  • exquisite idem, page 296.
  • fair idem, page 302.
  • favourable idem, page 311.
  • fine idem, page 321.
  • fortunate idem, page 340.
  • good idem, page 366.
  • goodly idem, page 367.
  • handsome idem, page 383.
  • happy idem, page 384.
  • high-principled idem, page 400.
  • honourable idem, page 405.
  • hopeful idem, page 405.
  • lovely idem, page 502.
  • lucky idem, page 504.
  • noble idem, page 559.
  • ornamental idem, page 580.
  • picturesque idem, page 611.
  • plausible idem, page 618.
  • pomantic idem, page 625.
  • principled idem, page 641.
  • promising idem, page 653.
  • propitious idem, page 653.
  • reputable idem, page 699.
  • righteous idem, page 715.
  • skilful idem, page 780.
  • specious idem, page 799.
  • spruce idem, page 806.
  • virtuous idem, page 954.
  • well-favoured idem, page 974.
• 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, pages 626-7

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κᾰλός (“beautiful, morally beautiful, of good quality”), from Proto-Indo-European *kal-wo-s, form of *kal- (“beautiful”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈlos/
• Hyphenation: κα‧λός
• Homophone: καλώς (kalós)

Adjective

καλός • (kalós) m (feminine καλή, neuter καλό)

1. good

   Antonym: κακός (kakós)

2. nice, likeable

Declension

Derived terms

• καλό ταξίδι (kaló taxídi, “bon voyage”, literally “good journey”)
• καλή όρεξη (kalí órexi, “bon appetit”, literally “good appetite”)
• καλό μήνα (kaló mína, literally “good month”) (a greeting for the new month)

Related terms

• καλό (kaló)

Noun

καλός • (kalós) m (plural καλοί)

1. the good man

   Οι καλοί θα πάνε στον Παράδεισο. ― Oi kaloí tha páne ston Parádeiso. ― The good will go to Heaven.

2. goodie, goody
3. sweetheart

Declension

References