Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

A.“χειρόνεσσι” Pi.N.8.22:—(for Ep. form χερείων , poet. χειρότερος , χερειότερος , v. sub vocc.):—irreg. Comp. of κακός: (χείρων from Χερ-ψων, cf. χερείων):

I. of persons, mcaner, inferior, either in bodily strength and bravery, or in rank, opp. ἀρείων, Il.10.238, Od.20.133; “σὺ μὲν ἐσθλὸς ἐγὼ δὲ σέθεν πολὺ χείρων” Il.20.434; “τοῦ γένετ᾽ ἐκ πατρὸς πολὺ χείρονος υἱὸς ἀμείνων” 15.641, cf. Od.20.82; “ἦ πολὺ χείρονες ἄνδρες ἀμύμονος ἀνδρὸς ἄκοιτιν μνῶνται” 21.325; opp. κρείσσων, Pi.I.4(3).34(52); “τὸν ὄλβιον τόν τε χ.” E.Ba.422 (lyr.); “τὰ χείρονα” S.Fr.192, E.Supp.196.

2. later in moral sense, worse than others, sts. almost like a positive, knave, opp. ἀγαθός, S.Ph.456, cf. Th.3.9, Lys.16.3; “οἱ πένητες καὶ οἱ δημόται καὶ οἱ χ.” X.Ath.1.4, cf. 3.10; οἱ χ., opp. οἱ ἀγαθοί, Pl.R.460c, etc.

b. χ. βίος, opp. ἀμείνων, ib.618d; “γνώμη” X.Cyr.8.8.7.

3. worse in quality, inferior, of horses, Il.23.572: inferior, less skilful, “ἰητροί” Hp.Acut.6; ζωγράφοι, δημιουργοί, etc., Pl.Cra.429a, R.421e, etc.: χ. εἰς σοφίαν, εἰς τὴν ἀρετήν, Id.Tht.162c, R.335b; “πρὸς ἀλήθειαν” Luc. JTr.48; c. acc., “χ. τὰ πολεμικά” X.Cyr.8.8.20; χ. τὴν ψυχήν, τὴν διάνοιαν, Aeschin.3.46. Isoc.11.43; “τὰ ἄλλα μηδὲν χ.” Id.4.105; c. inf., “χ. ἡμῶν ταῦτα ποιεῖν” X.Cyr.2.1.16; οὐδὲν χείρους ἔσεσθε . . ἀκηκοότες you will be none the worse for having heard . . , D.24.139; less kind, “μὴ χ. περὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς εἶναι . . τῶν ὑπαρχόντων” Id.2.2.

II. of things, inferior in quality, “ἄεθλον” Il.23.413; “ὑποδήματα” X.Oec. 13.10; “ὄνομα” Pl.Cra.429b.

2. worse, harder, more severe, “νόσος” E.Andr.220; “μοῖρα” Pl.Phdr.248e; “τιμωρία” Ep.Hebr.10.29.

III. neut.,

1. as a Subst., “τὸ χ.” inferiority, Polem.Call.27; but mostly in phrases with Preps., ἐπὶ τὸ χ. τρέπεσθαι, κλῖναι, fall off, get worse, X.Cyr.8.8.2, Mem.3.5.13; “ἐπὶ τὸ χ. μεταβάλλει ἑαυτόν” Pl.R. 381b; ἀλλοιοῦσθαι ἐπὶ τὸ χ., opp. ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον, Thphr.CP6.3.3; also πάντα ὑποπτεύοντες ἐπὶ τὸ χ. putting the worst construction on . . D.H.6.85; “λαμβάνειν τι ἐπὶ τὸ χ.” J.AJ16.7.4; also “πρὸς τὸ χ. μεταβάλλειν” D.S.20.57; “κατὰ τὸ χ.” Pl.Lg.720e; in the lower sense, opp. κατὰ τὸ κρεῖττον, Dam.Pr.7: less freq. in pl., “ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω ἰέναι” X. Mem.3.9.9; “τὰ χ. προαιρεῖσθαι” Isoc.8.110.

2. as a predicate, ἀλλὰ σοὶ αὐτῷ χ. (sc. ἐστί or ἔσται) Od.15.515, cf. X.An.7.6.4; with a neg., οὐ χ. [ἐστι] c. inf., we may as well, Pl.Phd.105a, Arist. EN1127a14; simply οὐ χεῖρον, in an answer, it is as well, Ar.Eq. 37; “λάβ᾽, ὦγάθ᾽: οὐδὲν χ.” Clearch.Com.4.

3. as Adv., worse, “χ. βουλεύσασθαι” Th.3.46, cf. 6.89; “χ. πρᾶξαι” Id.7.67; βιῶναι, ζῆν, Pl. R.344e, 519d.

b. in inferior degree, less, “ἀγαπᾶν” Id.Lg.928a; “φυλακὰς χ. φυλαττομένας” X.HG6.2.17, etc.

B. Sup. χείριστος , η, ον, worst, Pl.Plt.303a, etc.; ὁ χ., opp. ὁ βέλτιστος, Lys.1.2; esp. “οἱ χ.” men of lowest degrce, X.Mem.1.2.32. Adv. “χείριστα” Arist.PA687a24, Metaph.1083b2 (dub. 1.); also “-τως” LXX 2 Ma.7.39.