καλός

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

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

While it has been compared with Sanskrit कल्य (kalya), this does not seem a satisfactory explanation for the term and all of its variations and descendants.

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 [= καλϝά] 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

Descendants

References


Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κᾰλός (beautiful, morally beautiful, of good quality).[1]

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

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

  1. good
  2. nice, likeable

Declension

Antonyms

Derived terms

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

  1. καλός in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], 1998, by the "Triantafyllidis" Foundation.
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