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ἄναλος

ánalos

G358 predicate adjective

SILEX Entry

Definition

Lacking salt; figuratively, lacking vitality or force, insipid. Primarily denotes 'unsalted' in reference to food, especially substances that have lost their saltiness. By extension, used metaphorically to describe something as dull, insipid, or lacking in distinctive quality or usefulness, particularly in moral, rhetorical, or spiritual context.

Semantic Range

without salt, tasteless, insipid, lacking usefulness, ineffective, dull (figurative)

Root / Etymology

Formed from the alpha privative Α- (denoting negation) and ἅλς (hals, 'salt'). Thus, the term literally means 'without salt.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

ἄναλος appears only rarely in surviving Greek literature, including once in the New Testament (e.g., Luke 14:34) and in some later Koine texts. In Hellenistic and Roman-era Greek, 'salt' (ἅλς) was a common metaphor for liveliness, wit, or utility, so 'without salt' developed the secondary sense of something being dull, ineffective, or lacking value. In its literal use, it refers to food or substance devoid of salt, but in rhetorical or didactic contexts—including the New Testament—its application broadens to refer to discourse or behavior that lacks effectiveness or moral force. In some English translation traditions, this nuance is flattened into phrases like 'lose its taste' or 'become tasteless,' but these may obscure the cultural undertones regarding value and utility. The concept of losing 'saltness' is connected in contemporary Greek to lacking sharpness or impact (cf. Latin 'insipidus').

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from Α (as a negative particle) and ἅλς; saltless, i.e. insipid:--X lose saltness.

Root Family

ἄναλος (analos) — saltless, unsalted, tasteless, insipid, lacking value or vitality

Root ἁλ- salt, seasoning, value

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G358-01 ἄναλον analon ADJ.P NOM N SG insipid unsalted becomes tasteless 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G358-01 Mark 9:50 ἄναλον analon ADJ.P NOM N SG insipid unsalted becomes tasteless
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