# μέχρι
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* μέχρῐς (mékhrĭs) — before vowels

### Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *méǵʰ(s)ri (locative), from *me (“with”) (see also μετά (metá)) + *ǵʰes- (“hand”) (whence χείρ (kheír, “hand”)). Cognate with its zero-grade ἄχρι (ákhri, “utterly, as far as”), Old Armenian մերձ (merj, “near, by”) and Albanian ndjerë (“until, near”).
The genitive is from the PIE ablative of comparison/extent.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mé.kʰri/ → /ˈme.xri/ → /ˈme.xri/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /mé.kʰri/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈme.kʰri/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈme.xri/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈme.xri/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈme.xri/

### Adverb

μέχρῐ • (mékhrĭ)
* until

### Conjunction

μέχρῐ • (mékhrĭ)
* until

### Preposition

μέχρι • (mékhri) (governs the genitive)
* Marker of spatial extension: as far as
* Marker of temporal extension: until
* Marker of general extent: to the point of, so far as

#### Usage notes

The general rule of μέχρῐς (mékhrĭs) being used before vowels only holds true in poetry, and is generally (but not always) ignored in prose works, with μέχρι being used regardless of what follows.

#### Related terms

* ἄχρι (ákhri)

#### Descendants

* Greek: μέχρι (méchri)

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “μέχρι”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 940-1

### Further reading

* “μέχρι”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “μέχρι”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “μέχρι”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* μέχρι 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
* G3360 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. far idem, page 306.till idem, page 874.up idem, page 937.
* Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN

## Greek
### Alternative forms

* μέχρις (méchris)

### Etymology

Inherited from Ancient Greek μέχρι (mékhri).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmexɾi/
* Hyphenation: μέ‧χρι

### Preposition

μέχρι • (méchri)
* until, till, til, 'til
    θα μείνω μέχρι… ― tha meíno méchri… ― I will stay until…
    μέχρι το 1975 ― méchri to 1975 ― until 1975
* until, as far as
    μέχρι τέλους ― méchri télous ― as far as the end
    Περπατάω μέχρι την ταβέρνα.Perpatáo méchri tin tavérna.I walked as far as the taverna.

#### Synonyms

* έως (éos) (preposition)
* ως (os) (preposition)
* ωσότου (osótou) (conjunction)
* ώσπου (óspou) (conjunction)

#### Derived terms

* μέχρι που (méchri pou) μέχρι (που) (méchri (pou)) μέχρις όπου (méchris ópou, “until, so far as, so much as, so long as [spatially or temporally]”, conjunction) (past tense only, simultaneous, time shared or interrupting event)
* μέχρι να (méchri na, “until, so far as, so much as, so long as”, conjunction) [with present or future tense verb] (simultaneous, time shared or interrupting event)
* μέχρι υπερβολής (méchri ypervolís, “to excess, to the point of excess”, adverb)
* μέχρι εσχάτων (méchri escháton, “to the end, until the end”, adverb) (no matter the cost)
* μέχρι να πεις κύμινο (méchri na peis kýmino, “in the blink of an eye”, adverb)
* μέχρι κεραίας (méchri keraías, “exactingly, meticulously”, adverb)
* μέχρι αποδείξεως του εναντίου (méchri apodeíxeos tou enantíou, “until you've proven otherwise”, adverb)
* μέχρι ενός (méchri enós, “but one, save for one”, adverb) (e.g., all but one survived)