Below are excerpts from several grammarians and scholars on the meaning of kraipale, a Greek word referring to the physical after-effects of drunkenness. In the thorough Socratic manner, we must first define our terms – later, I will add a post about how to manage this affliction! (No, the answer will not ‘abstinence’.)
Phrynicus, praeparatio sophistica 78.12-14:
Kraipale: The act of drinking from evening until morning and the consequent derangement of the senses; derived from ‘pallein,’ which means ‘to shake,’ the head.
κραιπάλη (Aristoph. Acharn. 277 et saepius): ἡ ἀφ’ ἑσπέρας ἄχρι εἰς ὄρθρον πόσις καὶ παραφορὰ τῆς διανοίας, ἀπὸ τοῦ πάλλειν, ὅ πέρ ἐστιν διασείειν, τὴν κεφαλήν.
Ptolemaeus Grammaticus, de differentia vocabulorum: 393.7-9
‘Kraipale’ (the headache from drunkenness) and ‘methe’ (drunkenness) differ: For, ‘methe’ is drunkenness which occurs on the same day. ‘Kraipale,’ however, is the drunkenness leftover from yesterday.
κραιπάλη καὶ μέθη διαφέρει· μέθη μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας γινομένη οἴνωσις· κραιπάλη δὲ ἡ ἐχθεσινὴ μέθη.
Hesychius, Lexicon:
Kraipale: The headache which springs from yesterday’s drunkenness.
*κραιπάλη· ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς χθιζῆς μέθης κεφαλαλγία (Luc. 21,34)
Etymologicum Magnum:
Kraipalo (verb): A second linking of the vowels with a circumflex. [?] The verb is formed from ‘kraipale,’ which signifies ‘methe’ (drunkenness). This comes from ‘kara’ (head) and ‘pallo’ (shake) by transposition and syncope.
Κραιπαλῶ: Δευτέρας συζυγίας τῶν περισπωμένων· γίνεται ἐκ τοῦ κραιπάλη, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν μέθην· τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ κάρα καὶ τὸ πάλλω, ὑπερθέσει καὶ συγκοπῇ.
Scholia in Aristophanis Acharnenses 277:
“from kraipale”: Drunkenness in the morning is called ‘kraipale;’ the drunkenness from yesterday’s wine-drinking.
ἐκ κραιπάλης: ἡ ἐξ ἑωθινοῦ μέθη κραιπάλη καλεῖται, ἡ ἀπὸ χθιζῆς οἰνοποσίας. EΓ
Thomas Magister, Ecloga nominum et verborum Atticorum:
Kraipale: The heaviness in the head from yesterday’s wine-drinking; ‘methe’ is the feeling of drunkenness on the same day.
Κραιπάλη ἡ ἐκ τῆς χθὲς γενομένης οἰνοποσίας κάρωσις, μέθη δὲ ἡ ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας.
This is a subject we have contemplated before: ancient authors love the topic and there are poems about it.
Another:
“Hangover-song: metonymically, a song that happens when you’re drunk”
Κραιπαλαίκωμος: μετωνυμικῶς ὁ κατὰ μέθην γινόμενος ὕμνος.
