# χαμαί
## Ancient Greek
### Etymology

From a case form of Proto-Indo-European *dʰéǵʰōm (“earth”) (whence also χθών (khthṓn, “earth”)), traditionally taken as a dative. Ringe identifies this as a fossilized allative/directive (Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰm̥m-éh₂) suffixed with the "hic-et-nunc particle" -i (Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰm̥m-éh₂-i) (also optionally attached to the locative of any noun); if so, then cognate with Old Hittite 𒁖𒈾𒀀 (taknā), which lacks the particle. Ringe adduces this correspondence as evidence for reconstructing the allative for Proto-Indo-European. Compare other cognate forms with the same semantics: Sanskrit क्ष्मया (kṣmayā́), Sanskrit ज्मया (jmayā́) (instrumental), Sanskrit क्षमा (kṣamā́) (also instrumental), and Sanskrit क्षामि (kṣā́mi), Latin humī (locative). Also compare πάλαι (pálai) and παραί (paraí).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kʰa.mǎi̯/ → /xaˈmɛ/ → /xaˈme/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /kʰa.mǎi̯/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /kʰaˈmɛ/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /xaˈmɛ/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /xaˈme/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /xaˈme/

### Adverb

χᾰμαί • (khămaí)
* on the earth, near the ground
* to the earth/ground

#### Derived terms

* χᾰμαιάκτη (khămaiáktē)
* χᾰμαιβάλανος (khămaibálanos)
* χᾰμαίβατος (khămaíbatos)
* χᾰμαίγειρον (khămaígeiron)
* χᾰμαιγηνής (khămaigēnḗs)
* χᾰμαιδάφνη (khămaidáphnē)
* χᾰμαιδιδάσκαλος (khămaididáskalos)
* χᾰμαιδικαστής (khămaidikastḗs)
* χᾰμαίδρυς (khămaídrus)
* χᾰμαιεύρετος (khămaieúretos)
* χᾰμαίζηλος (khămaízēlos)
* χᾰμαιζυμήτης (khămaizumḗtēs)
* χᾰμαῖθεν (khămaîthen)
* χᾰμαίκαυλος (khămaíkaulos)
* χᾰμαικέρασος (khămaikérasos)
* χᾰμαίκισσος (khămaíkissos)
* χᾰμαικλινής (khămaiklinḗs)
* χᾰμαικοιτέω (khămaikoitéō)
* χᾰμαικυπάρισσος (khămaikupárissos)
* χᾰμαίλεος (khămaíleos)
* χᾰμαιλεύκη (khămaileúkē)
* χᾰμαιλεχής (khămailekhḗs)
* χᾰμαιλέων (khămailéōn)
* χᾰμαιλίβανος (khămailíbanos)
* χᾰμαίλυκος (khămaílukos)
* χᾰμαίμηλον (khămaímēlon)
* χᾰμαιμυρσίνη (khămaimursínē)
* χᾰμαιμύρτη (khămaimúrtē)
* χᾰμαιπετέω (khămaipetéō)
* χᾰμαιπεύκη (khămaipeúkē)
* χᾰμαίπιτυς (khămaípitus)
* χᾰμαιπλάτανος (khămaiplátanos)
* χᾰμαίπους (khămaípous)
* χᾰμαιράφανος (khămairáphanos)
* χᾰμαιρεπής (khămairepḗs)
* χᾰμαίρυτον (khămaíruton)
* χᾰμαίρωψ (khămaírōps)
* χᾰμαίστρωτος (khămaístrōtos)
* χᾰμαισύκη (khămaisúkē)
* χᾰμαισχιδής (khămaiskhidḗs)
* χᾰμαιτυπέω (khămaitupéō)
* χᾰμαριφής (khămariphḗs)
* χᾰμελαία (khămelaía)
* χᾰμερπής (khămerpḗs)
* χᾰμεύνη (khămeúnē)

#### Descendants

* → Albanian: hjima
* Byzantine Greek: χάμω (khámō)
** Greek: χάμω (chámo)
** Greek: χαμέ (chamé) (Cypriot)
* → Late Latin: cama (possibly)
** Portuguese: cama
** Spanish: cama

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “χαμαί”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1612-3
* ↑ Ringe, Donald (2006) From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1)‎, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN

### Further reading

* “χαμαί”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “χαμαί”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “χαμαί”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* χαμαί 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
* χαμαί in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* “χαμαί”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G5476 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. ground idem, page 375.