ἔννυχον
énnychon
G1773 adverb
SILEX Entry
Definition
(adv.) By night, during the nighttime; describing activity that occurs throughout the hours of darkness, typically before dawn or in the late night hours. Used to indicate the temporal setting as being during the night, often emphasizing a time before daylight or the early hours of the morning.
Semantic Range
by night, during the night, at nighttime, before dawn, in the hours of darkness
Root / Etymology
Compound of the preposition ἐν ('in, during') and the noun νύξ ('night'), in the neuter accusative/adverbial form. Thus, literally, 'in the night' or 'by night.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
ἔννυχον is an adverbial form found in later (Hellenistic and Koine) Greek, with limited attestations. In ancient Greek, similar expressions (such as νύκτωρ) conveyed 'by night,' but ἔννυχον distinctly uses the prepositional prefix. In the New Testament and other Koine texts, it occurs as a temporal marker, equivalent to 'in the night' or 'before daybreak.' English translations sometimes render it as 'before day' or 'at night,' but these may obscure the sense of ongoing nighttime activity rather than a fixed moment. The use of neuter form for adverbial purposes is common in Greek.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
neuter of a compound of ἐν and νύξ; (adverbially) by night:--before day.
Root Family
ἔννυχον (ennychon) — in, night; nighttime, hours of darkness
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1773-01 |
ἔννυχα | ennucha | ADV |
while it was still dark | by night | while it was still dark | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1773-01 |
Mark 1:35 | ἔννυχα | ennucha | ADV |
while it was still dark | by night | while it was still dark |