χάρις

See also: 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 translation of the Hebrew word חֵן (ḥēn), 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 [or favor] 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
  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).

Inflection

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.