χείρων

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• χερείων (khereíōn) — Homeric

Etymology

Suppletive comparative of κακός (kakós, “bad”), from χερ- (kher-) + comparative suffix -ίων (-íōn)

Pronunciation

Adjective

χείρων • (kheírōn) m or f (neuter χεῖρον); third declension

1. worse in quality, inferior
   1. (of men) less brave, lower in rank
2. (with negative οὐδὲν (oudèn)) no worse: just as good
   • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 97b:

     καὶ ἕως γ’ ἄν που ὀρθὴν δόξαν ἔχῃ περὶ ὧν ὁ ἕτερος ἐπιστήμην, οὐδὲν χείρων ἡγεμὼν ἔσται .

     kaì héōs g’ án pou orthḕn dóxan ékhēi perì hôn ho héteros epistḗmēn, oudèn kheírōn hēgemṑn éstai […] .

     And as long as he has the right opinion about what the other man has actual knowledge, he will be no worse a guide .

Declension

Antonyms

• ἀρείων (areíōn)
• βελτίων (beltíōn)
• ἀμείνων (ameínōn)
• κρείσσων (kreíssōn)

Related terms

• χείριστος (kheíristos) — superlative

Further reading

• “χείρων”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “χείρων”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “χείρων”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• χείρων in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• χείρων in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “χείρων”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G5501 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.
  • cheiron idem, page 129.
  • decadent idem, page 199.
  • degenerate idem, page 206.
  • inferior idem, page 437.
  • lower idem, page 503.
  • may idem, page 519.
  • second idem, page 746.
  • subordinate idem, page 831.
  • worse idem, page 990.