# καιρός
## Ancient Greek
### Etymology

Of unclear origin. Possibly related to κείρω (keírō, “to shear, cut short”) (as a "decisive moment"), κεράννυμι (keránnumi, “to mix”) (as an "atmospherical mix"), or κύρω (kúrō, “to meet (accidentally)”); Beekes seems to favor the connection to κείρω (keírō) the most. Might also be related to, or the source of, Albanian qëro (“time”) (an archaic term).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kai̯.rós/ → /cɛˈros/ → /ceˈros/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /kai̯.rós/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /kɛˈros/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /cɛˈros/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ceˈros/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ceˈros/

### Noun

καιρός • (kairós) m (genitive καιροῦ); second declension (Epic, Attic, Ionic, Doric, Koine)
* measure; proportion; fitness
* (of time): period (of time); season; time
* (often in a positive sense) proper time, opportunity; prime, the right moment, the fatal spot
* (loosely): God's time
* (in the plural) the times
* advantage, profit

#### Usage notes

Not found in Homer, though it is used by other early authors who wrote in Epic Greek: Hesiod and Theognis.

#### Synonyms

* (time): χρόνος (khrónos)

#### Derived terms

* καίριος (kaírios)
* καιρόφιλος (kairóphilos)
* καιροφυλακέω (kairophulakéō)
* καιροτηρέω (kairotēréō)

#### Descendants

* Greek: καιρός (kairós)
* →? Albanian: qëro
* → English: kairos
* → French: kairos

#### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “καιρός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 617

### Further reading

* “καιρός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “καιρός”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* καιρός 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
* “καιρός”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G2540 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* καιρός 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. chance idem, page 123.conjuncture idem, page 160.crisis idem, page 184.decisive idem, page 201.emergency idem, page 268.field idem, page 317.high time idem, page 399.hour idem, page 408.moment idem, page 538.nick idem, page 558.occasion idem, page 568.opening idem, page 576.opportunity idem, page 576.period idem, page 607.room idem, page 721.scope idem, page 740.season idem, page 746.time idem, page 875.turn idem, page 901.

## Greek
### Etymology

Inherited from Ancient Greek καιρός (kairós, “the right moment”). The modern sense, since mediaeval times.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ceˈɾos/
* Hyphenation: και‧ρός

### Noun

καιρός • (kairós) m (plural καιροί)
* weather
    καιρού επιτρέποντος ― kairoú epitrépontos ― weather permitting (formal expression)
* time, events
    από καιρό σε καιρό ― apó kairó se kairó ― from time to time

#### Declension

| | singular | plural |
| nominative | καιρός • | καιροί • |
| genitive | καιρού • | καιρών • |
| accusative | καιρό • | καιρούς • |
| vocative | καιρέ • | καιροί • |

#### Synonyms

* (time): χρόνος m (chrónos)

#### Derived terms

* ανεπίκαιρος (anepíkairos, “untimely”)

### References

* ↑ καιρός, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language