πρόχειρος … κτανεῖν. In its primary and usual sense, “πρόχειρος” denotes what is ready in the hand (1116). Here it passes into a wholly different sense, applied to a person whose hand is ‘forward’ or ready, as “πρόθυμος” is one whose spirit is forward. Cp. Eur. H. F. 161“τῇ φυγῇ πρόχειρος ἦν”, ‘prompt for flight’ (=“φεύγειν”), where Wilamowitz illustrates the dat. by Pind. O. 4. 14“τροφαῖς ἕτοιμον ἵππων”.
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Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VI: The Electra. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1894.
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