χάρις

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From the same root as χαίρω (khaírō, “to be happy”). In the religious sense, it was first used in the Septuagint as a semantic loan from Biblical Hebrew חֵן (ḥēn)

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, for instance in Genesis 6:8:

• וְנֹ֕חַ מָ֥צָא חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

  wə-nōaḥ māṣāʾ ḥēn bə-ʿēynēy yəhwāh.

  And Noah found grace in the eyes of YHWH.

• 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Septuagint, Genesis 6.8:

  Νωε δὲ εὗρεν χάριν ἐναντίον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ.

  Nōe dè heûren khárin enantíon kuríou toû theoû.

  Noah found grace before the Lord God.

Pronunciation

Noun

χᾰ́ρῐς • (kháris) f (genitive χᾰ́ρῐτος); third declension

1. beauty, elegance, charm, grace
2. favourable disposition towards someone: grace, favor, goodwill
   1. (Judaism, Christianity) the grace or favor of God
   2. a voluntary act of goodwill
3. gratitude, thanks

   Synonym: μοῖτος (moîtos)

4. influence (opposite force)
5. gratification, delight

Usage notes

The irregular accusative singular χάριν (khárin) is far more common, but χάριτα (khárita) is used in later works. There is also an alternate dative plural: χαρίτεσσι (kharítessi).

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲭⲁⲣⲓⲥ (kharis)
• ⇒ Greek: χάρη (chári)
• → Romanian: har

Further reading

• “χάρις”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “χάρις”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “χάρις”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• χάρις 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
• χάρις in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “χάρις”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G5485 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.
  • allurement idem, page 25.
  • amenity idem, page 27.
  • attraction idem, page 51.
  • benefaction idem, page 73.
  • bias idem, page 78.
  • boon idem, page 89.
  • bounty idem, page 91.
  • charm idem, page 126.
  • daintiness idem, page 193.
  • elegance idem, page 265.
  • enchantment idem, page 270.
  • fancifulness idem, page 306.
  • fascination idem, page 308.
  • favour idem, page 311.
  • grace idem, page 368.
  • gracefulness idem, page 368.
  • graciousness idem, page 368.
  • gratefulness idem, page 370.
  • gratitude idem, page 371.
  • indulgence idem, page 435.
  • kindness idem, page 469.
  • magic idem, page 507.
  • niceness idem, page 558.
  • obligation idem, page 565.
  • offering idem, page 571.
  • office idem, page 571.
  • pleasantness idem, page 619.
  • polish idem, page 624.
  • politeness idem, page 625.
  • popularity idem, page 626.
  • prettiness idem, page 638.
  • recognition idem, page 680.
  • refinement idem, page 684.
  • seductiveness idem, page 748.
  • service idem, page 755.
  • sweetness idem, page 848.
  • taste idem, page 856.
  • tastefulness idem, page 856.
  • thank-offering idem, page 863.
  • thankfulness idem, page 863.
  • thanks idem, page 863.
  • turn idem, page 901.
  • winsomeness idem, page 982.
  • witchery idem, page 983.