χλιαίνω

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From earlier χλίω (khlíō), from Proto-Hellenic *kʰlíō.

The entry by Beekes in his Etymological Dictionary of Greek reads (in paraphrase):

"The pair formed by this verb and χλιαρός (khliarós, tepid, lukewarm), like μιαίνω (miaínō)/μιαρός (miarós) and πιαίνω (piaínō)/πιαρός (piarós), belong together both formally and semantically, due to their physiological meaning "soft, lukewarm". Some Celtic and Germanic words with the meaning "to shine" are compared: Old Irish glé (clear, evident), Middle Welsh gloew (liquid, clear), Old Norse gljá (to shine, gleam), Proto-Germanic *glaimiz (brightness, splendour), Lithuanian žlejà (darkness, twilight). All these words point to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (to shine). However, the connection between "shine, gleam" and "warm" is difficult, so the reconstruction remains uncertain."

Pronunciation

 

Verb

χλῑαίνω • (khlīaínō)

  1. (active voice) to warm, warm up
  2. (passive voice) to grow warm, warm oneself

Inflection

Derived terms

  • ἀνᾰχλῑαίνω (anăkhlīaínō)
  • ἐπῐχλῑαίνω (epĭkhlīaínō)
  • ὑποχλῑαίνω (hupokhlīaínō)
  • χλῐᾰρός (khlĭărós)
  • χλῐ́ᾰσμᾰ (khlĭ́ăsmă)

Further reading