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δυσεντερία

dysentería

G1420 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

An intestinal illness, particularly 'dysentery,' characterized by inflammation of the bowels, typically resulting in diarrhea with the passage of blood and mucus. The term primarily denotes this specific medical condition, in both classical and Hellenistic sources, with little semantic extension beyond the technical sense.

Semantic Range

dysentery (intestinal inflammation with bloody diarrhea); specifically, a medical condition involving the bowels with passage of blood; in technical, medical, and narrative descriptions

Root / Etymology

From δυσ- ('bad, abnormal') and a comparative form of ἔντερον ('intestine, bowel'), literally meaning 'bad condition of the intestines.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

δυσεντερία is a medical term borrowed from Greek medical literature predating the New Testament, such as Hippocratic texts, where it refers specifically to acute or chronic inflammation of the large intestine, often accompanied by diarrhea with blood (thus later rendered 'bloody flux' in some English traditions). In the cultural context of the Greco-Roman world, δυσεντερία indicated a serious, and sometimes fatal, disease due to poor sanitation, affecting both elite and common populations. In Acts 28:8, it is mentioned as the illness afflicting the father of Publius. The usage in this period is consistent with the technical medical sense elsewhere in Koine Greek. English translations typically render it 'dysentery' or 'bloody flux,' but the accurate sense is a medical diagnosis based on the symptoms described, not a general term for all severe diarrhea. The word does not carry metaphorical or symbolic usage in the known corpus.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from δυσ- and a comparative of ἐντός (meaning a bowel); a "dysentery":--bloody flux.

Root Family

δυσεντερία (dysenteria) — bad intestines, intestinal disorder, dysentery

Root δυσεντερ- bad intestines, intestinal disorder

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1420-01 δυσεντερίῳ dusenterio N DAT N SG dysentery to dysentery with dysentery 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1420-01 Acts 28:8 δυσεντερίῳ dusenterio N DAT N SG dysentery to dysentery with dysentery
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