# καλός
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* κᾱ́λος (kā́los) — Aeolic
* καλϝός (kalwós) — Boeotian

### Etymology

From earlier καλϝός (kalwós), probably from Proto-Indo-European *kal-wo-s, formed from *kal- (“beautiful”).
Cognate to Sanskrit कल्य (kalya), Sanskrit कल्याण (kalyā́ṇa), Albanian kolmë.

### Pronunciation

In most cases:
* IPA: /ka.lós/ → /kaˈlos/ → /kaˈlos/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /ka.lós/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /kaˈlos/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /kaˈlos/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /kaˈlos/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /kaˈlos/
In epic poetry and in some other cases:
* IPA: /kaː.lós/ → /kaˈlos/ → /kaˈlos/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /kaː.lós/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /kaˈlos/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /kaˈlos/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /kaˈlos/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /kaˈlos/

### Adjective

καλός • (kalós) m (feminine καλή, neuter καλόν); first/second declension
* beautiful, lovely
* good, quality, useful
* 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.

#### Derived terms

* καλόπους (kalópous, “having beautiful feet”)

#### Related terms

* κάλλος (kállos)

#### Descendants

* Greek: καλός (kalós, “good”)
* Arabic: قالون (“Qālūn”)

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “καλός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 626–627

### Further reading

* “καλός, ή, όν”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “καλός”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “καλός”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* καλός 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
* καλός in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* “καλός”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G2570 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* καλός 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. admirable idem, page 12.artistic idem, page 42.auspicious idem, page 53.beautiful idem, page 68.buxom idem, page 107.capital idem, page 111.comely idem, page 145.creditable idem, page 183.elegant idem, page 265.estimable idem, page 283.excellent idem, page 288.exquisite idem, page 296.fair idem, page 302.favourable idem, page 311.fine idem, page 321.fortunate idem, page 340.good idem, page 366.goodly idem, page 367.handsome idem, page 383.happy idem, page 384.high-principled idem, page 400.honourable idem, page 405.hopeful idem, page 405.lovely idem, page 502.lucky idem, page 504.noble idem, page 559.ornamental idem, page 580.picturesque idem, page 611.plausible idem, page 618.pomantic idem, page 625.principled idem, page 641.promising idem, page 653.propitious idem, page 653.reputable idem, page 699.righteous idem, page 715.skilful idem, page 780.specious idem, page 799.spruce idem, page 806.virtuous idem, page 954.well-favoured idem, page 974.

## Greek
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek κᾰλός (“beautiful, morally beautiful, of good quality”), from Proto-Indo-European *kal-wo-s, form of *kal- (“beautiful”).

### Pronunciation

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

### Adjective

καλός • (kalós) m (feminine καλή, neuter καλό)
* good
    Antonym: κακός (kakós)
* nice, likeable

#### Declension

Derivations: Comparative: πιο + positive forms (e.g. πιο καλός, etc.) Relative superlative: definite article + πιο + positive forms (e.g. ο πιο καλός, etc.)
Degrees of comparions: see absolute comparative καλύτερος (kalýteros) and superlatives άριστος (áristos), learned κάλλιστος. Also, the less common καλότατος (kalótatos).

#### Derived terms

* καλό ταξίδι (kaló taxídi, “bon voyage”, literally “good journey”)
* καλή όρεξη (kalí órexi, “bon appetit”, literally “good appetite”)
* καλό μήνα (kaló mína, literally “good month”) (a greeting for the new month)

#### Related terms

* καλό (kaló)

### Noun

καλός • (kalós) m (plural καλοί)
* the good man
    Οι καλοί θα πάνε στον Παράδεισο. ― Oi kaloí tha páne ston Parádeiso. ― The good will go to Heaven.
* goodie, goody
* sweetheart

#### Declension
### References

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