Ancient Greek

Adjective

χᾰλεπός • ‎(khalepós) m ‎(feminine χᾰλεπή, neuter χᾰλεπόν); first/second declension

1. difficult, hard
   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 3.59.3

     ὅπερ δὲ ἀναγκαῖόν τε καὶ χαλεπώτατον τοῖς ὧδε ἔχουσι, λόγου τελευτᾶν

     Finally, to do what is necessary and yet most difficult for men in our situation—that is, to make an end of speaking

2. hard to bear, painful, grievous
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 14.417

     τὸν δ᾽ οὔ περ ἔχει θράσος ὅς κεν ἴδηται ἐγγὺς ἐών, χαλεπὸς δὲ Διὸς μεγάλοιο κεραυνός

     Then verily courage no longer possesseth him that looketh thereon and standeth near by, for dread is the bolt of great Zeus

3. cruel, harsh, stern
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 2.232

     μή τις ἔτι πρόφρων ἀγανὸς καὶ ἤπιος ἔστω σκηπτοῦχος βασιλεύς [...] ἀλλ᾽ αἰεὶ χαλεπός τ᾽ εἴη καὶ αἴσυλα ῥέζοι:

     Never henceforth let sceptred king with a ready heart be kind and gentle [...] but let him ever be harsh and work unrighteousness.

   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 2.245

     καί μιν ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν χαλεπῷ ἠνίπαπε μύθῳ:

     And with an angry glance Odysseus chid him with harsh words.

4. savage, fierce
   • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Anabasis 5.8.24

     τοὺς μὲν γὰρ κύνας τοὺς χαλεποὺς τὰς μὲν ἡμέρας διδέασι, τὰς δὲ νύκτας ἀφιᾶσι

     For dogs that are savage are tied up by day and let loose by night.

Inflection

Derived terms

Synonyms

• (difficult): ἐργώδης ‎(ergṓdēs)
• (harsh, cruel): ᾰ̓μείλικτος ‎(ameíliktos)

Antonyms

• (easy): ῥᾴδιος ‎(ῥᾴdios)

See also

• ᾰ̓́πορος ‎(áporos)
• δῠσ- ‎(dus-)

References

• χαλεπός in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• χαλεπός in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• χαλεπός in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• «χαλεπός» in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• «χαλεπός» in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• χαλεπός in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• “G5467”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English-Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • acute idem, page 10.
  • angry idem, page 29.
  • arduous idem, page 39.
  • austere idem, page 53.
  • awkward idem, page 56.
  • bitter idem, page 80.
  • burdensome idem, page 104.
  • cruel idem, page 187.
  • cumbersome idem, page 189.
  • dangerous idem, page 194.
  • difficult idem, page 223.
  • discontented idem, page 230.
  • exacting idem, page 286.
  • ferocious idem, page 316.
  • fierce idem, page 318.
  • furious idem, page 350.
  • hard idem, page 385.
  • harsh idem, page 387.
  • hazardous idem, page 389.
  • indignant idem, page 433.
  • intractable idem, page 454.
  • laborious idem, page 472.
  • malignant idem, page 510.
  • mischievous idem, page 533.
  • miserable idem, page 533.
  • onerous idem, page 574.
  • perilous idem, page 606.
  • resentful idem, page 701.
  • restive idem, page 705.
  • rigid idem, page 715.
  • rigorous idem, page 715.
  • rough idem, page 722.
  • rugged idem, page 725.
  • savage idem, page 735.
  • serious idem, page 754.
  • severe idem, page 759.
  • sinister idem, page 778.
  • stern idem, page 816.
  • stiff idem, page 817.
  • stirring idem, page 818.
  • stony idem, page 819.
  • testy idem, page 863.
  • thorny idem, page 867.
  • threatening idem, page 869.
  • tiresome idem, page 877.
  • toilsome idem, page 879.
  • troublesome idem, page 897.
  • trying idem, page 899.
  • unaccomodating idem, page 906.
  • unbending idem, page 908.
  • uneven idem, page 916.
  • unfortunate idem, page 918.
  • unkind idem, page 923.
  • unsafe idem, page 930.
  • vexatious idem, page 950.
  • vicious idem, page 950.
  • wearisome idem, page 970.
  • wrathful idem, page 992.

1. ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “χαλεπός [adj.]”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 1609