καθαιρέω Ionic κατ- fut. ήσω fut. 2 καθελῶ aor2 καθεῖλον inf. καθελεῖν Pass., aor1 καθῃρέθην perf. -ῄρημαι to take down, καθείλομεν ἱστία we lowered sail, Od.; κ. ἄχθος to take a load down, i. e. off oneʼs shoulders, Ar.:—Mid., καταιρεῖσθαι τὰ τόξα to take down oneʼs bow, Hdt. to put down or close the eyes of the dead, Hom. of sorcerers, to bring down, Lat. caelo deducere, σελήνην Ar., Plat. κατά με πέδον γᾶς ἕλοι (in tmesi) may earth swallow me! Eur. to put down by force, destroy, Od., Trag.: simply to kill, slay, Eur. in a milder sense, to put down, reduce, Hdt., Dem., etc.: to depose, dethrone, Hdt.; κ. τὸ λῃστικόν to remove it utterly, Thuc. to rase to the ground, pull down, τὰς πόλεις Thuc.; τῶν τειχῶν a part of the walls, Xen. to cancel, rescind, τὸ ψήφισμα Thuc. as Attic law-term, to condemn, Soph. to reduce in flesh, Plut. to overpower, seize, κὰδ δέ μιν ὕπνος ᾕρει (in tmesi) Od.; καθ. τινὰ ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ to catch in the act of folly, Soph.: c. gen. partis, κ. τῶν ὤτων to seize by the ears, Theocr. to fetch down as a reward or prize, καθαιρεῖν ἀγῶνα or ἀγώνισμα Plut.: metaph. to achieve, Pind.; so in Mid., φόνῳ καθαιρεῖσθʼ, οὐ λόγῳ, τὰ πράγματα Eur.; in Pass., Hdt. more rarely like the simple αἱρέω, to take and carry off, seize, Hdt.