LOGOI

The corpus record

χέρσος

chersos · ἡ

dry land, on, by land

Generated live from the audited corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

Where it lives

  • Persians 3 · 5.89/10k
  • Osee 2 · 5.31/10k
  • Suppliant Maidens 2 · 4.15/10k
  • Odae 1 · 2.46/10k
  • Helen 2 · 2.04/10k
  • Seven Against Thebes 1 · 1.99/10k
  • Eumenides 1 · 1.91/10k
  • Rhesus 1 · 1.86/10k
  • Isaias 4 · 1.52/10k
  • Sapientia Salomonis 1 · 1.45/10k
  • Odyssey 12 · 1.38/10k
  • Antigone 1 · 1.36/10k

Densest 12 of 21 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant — LSJ

dry land, on, by land, barren soils

dry land, opp. water, ἐπὶ χέρσου, opp. ἐν πόντῳ, Od. 10.459, cf. 15.495; κύματα μακρὰ κυλινδόμενα προτὶ χέρσον 9.147; λάϊγγας ποτὶ χ. ἀποπλύνεσκε θάλασσα 6.95; κῦμα . . βοάᾳ ποτὶ χ. Il. 14.394; κῦμα . . χέρσῳ ῥηγνύμενον μεγάλα βρέμει 4.425; χέρσον ἱκέσθαι Od. 9.486, 542; ἐπὶ χέρσω Sapph. Supp. 9.10; κατὰ χέρσον A. Pers. 873 (lyr.), E. IT 884 (lyr.); χέρσῳ on or by land, A. Pers. 977 (lyr.), Ag. 558, E. Hel. 1066: prov., ἐν πόντῳ νᾶες, ἐνχέρσῳ πόλεμοι Pi. O. 12.4, cf. N. 1.62; πολλὰ . . ἐκ θαλάσσ

II dry, firm, the mainland

after Hom. as Adj., χέρσος, ον, dry, firm, of land, Hdt. 2.99; Εὐρώπαν ποτὶ χέρσον to the mainland of Europe, Pi. N. 4.70; ἐν κονίᾳ χέρσῳ, opp. πόντῳ, ib. 9.43.

2 dry, hard, barren, without a crop, waste places, left dry

dry, hard, barren, τῆς χώρης ἐούσης χ. Hdt. 4.123; στύφλος δὲ γῆ καὶ χ. S. Ant. 251; παραδοῦναι [τὴν γῆν] χέρρον, i.e. ψιλήν, without a crop on it, IG 2(2).2492.16; χ. καὶ ἄκανθα ἔσται ἡ γῆ LXX Is. 7.24; χέρσα waste places, A. Fr. 189; χ. λιμήν a harbour left dry, AP 9.427 (Barb.): freq. in Pap., PAmh. 2.31.12 (ii B. C.), etc.

3 barren

metaph., barren, of women, χέρσους φθαρῆναι κἀγάμους S. OT 1502.

b barren of

c. gen., barren of, πυρὰ χέρσος ἀγλαϊς μάτων E. El. 325. (Cf. Skt. hárṣate ‘become stiff, bristle’, Avest. zarštva- ‘stone’, Lat. horreo.)

In the wild

6 of 48 attestations shown. Ask for more.

Where it came from

  • Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. χέρσος (scan p. 1275; entry #8716). Root candidates: *yoF-.
  • Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch Treated in Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. χέρσος (scan pp. 2061-2062; entry #6085).

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