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λοιμός

loimós

G3061 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Serious infectious disease, an epidemic or plague; generally denotes a widespread and severe disease outbreak. In broader contexts, can signify a metaphorical affliction or calamity, but most often specifies a literal pestilence or epidemic illness.

Semantic Range

epidemic disease, deadly plague, pestilence, widespread affliction, figurative menace or source of trouble

Root / Etymology

Etymology uncertain. Possibly related to λέμω (lemo), an archaic term for hunger or famine, or σχοιμός (skoimos) relating to disease, but direct derivation is unclear. The precise Greek root is uncertain; not directly traceable to an attested stem in other Greek words.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, λοιμός most often refers to a devastating disease impacting large populations, such as the plagues described by historians like Thucydides (e.g., the 'Plague of Athens'). In Hellenistic and Koine usage, including the Septuagint (LXX), λοιμός typically translates Hebrew דֶּבֶר (deber), referring to infectious plagues or pestilences as forms of divine or natural catastrophe. In the New Testament (e.g., Luke 21:11; Acts 24:5), λοιμός appears both in reference to literal outbreaks of disease and figuratively, as in Acts 24:5 where it describes a person as a social menace or public danger ("a pest"). English translations such as 'plague' or 'pestilence' generally capture the primary sense but may not always convey the wider metaphorical usage. The term does not specify particular symptoms or causes, only the impact (widespread and deadly disease).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of uncertain affinity; a plague (literally, the disease, or figuratively, a pest):--pestilence(-t).

Root Family

λοιμός (loimos) — infectious disease, plague, pestilence

Root uncertain infectious disease, plague, pestilence
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G30613 a plague-scourge

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3061-01 λοιμοὶ loimoi N NOM M PL pestilences plagues pestilences 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3061-01 Luke 21:11 λοιμοὶ loimoi N NOM M PL pestilences plagues pestilences
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