μάχαιρα

See also: μαχαίρα and μαχαίρᾳ

Ancient Greek

Controversial:^[1]

Traditionally linked to μάχομαι (mákhomai, “to fight”); compare μάχη (mákhē, “a battle, a strife”). Though formally without issues, Chantraine finds this implausible.
Others consider the word to be from a foreign or substrate source, though exact comparanda are disputed. Lewy considers the word as a Semitic borrowing; compare Hebrew מכרה (mᵉkērā, “sword”). However, Gordon considers the Hebrew to be borrowed from Greek, rather than the other way around.
Beekes prefers to link the word to μάγειρος (mágeiros, “cook”), taking the γ/χ interchange as evidence of Pre-Greek origin.

μᾰ́χαιρᾰ • (mắkhairă) f (genitive μᾰχαίρᾱς); first declension

Later Greek used μαχαίρης (makhaírēs) and μαχαίρῃ (makhaírēi) for the singular genitive and dative respectively.

First declension of ἡ μᾰ́χαιρᾰ; τῆς μᾰχαίρᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ μᾰ́χαιρᾰ hē mắkhairă	τὼ μᾰχαίρᾱ tṑ măkhaírā	αἱ μᾰ́χαιραι hai mắkhairai
Genitive	τῆς μᾰχαίρᾱς tês măkhaírās	τοῖν μᾰχαίραιν toîn măkhaírain	τῶν μᾰχαιρῶν tôn măkhairôn
Dative	τῇ μᾰχαίρᾳ tēî măkhaírāi	τοῖν μᾰχαίραιν toîn măkhaírain	ταῖς μᾰχαίραις taîs măkhaírais
Accusative	τὴν μᾰ́χαιρᾰν tḕn mắkhairăn	τὼ μᾰχαίρᾱ tṑ măkhaírā	τᾱ̀ς μᾰχαίρᾱς tā̀s măkhaírās
Vocative	μᾰ́χαιρᾰ mắkhairă	μᾰχαίρᾱ măkhaírā	μᾰ́χαιραι mắkhairai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

⇒ Koine Greek: μαχαίριον (makhaírion) (diminutive)
- Greek: μαχαίρι (machaíri), μαχαίρα (machaíra, “large knife”)
- Mariupol Greek: маше́р (mašér)
→ Greek: μάχαιρα (máchaira) (learned)
→ Latin: machaera
Translingual: †Machairodus

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “μάχαιρα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 915

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μάχαιρα (mákhaira).^[1] Doublet of μαχαίρι (machaíri).

μάχαιρα • (máchaira) f (uncountable)

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