ὀρθρινός
orthrinós
G3720 substantive adjective
SILEX Entry
Definition
Pertaining to or occurring at dawn or early morning; descriptive of the period shortly after night ends and before full daylight. Used especially to characterize something as belonging to or manifest during the first hours of the day, with some instances as an epithet for the morning star (e.g., Venus) or for phenomena associated with daybreak.
Semantic Range
pertaining to dawn, relating to the morning, happening at daybreak, belonging to the early morning, descriptive of the morning star (Venus), matutinal
Root / Etymology
From ὄρθρος ('dawn', 'daybreak', 'early morning') with the adjectival suffix -ινός, indicating relation to or belonging to that time.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical and Hellenistic Greek, ὀρθρινός is primarily an adjective denoting anything related to or taking place during dawn—actions (such as rising or embarking), times, or celestial phenomena (notably the planet Venus as the morning star). It appears in literary and poetic registers, where the precise time of day was significant in description. In the Septuagint and rare New Testament usage, it can describe morning sacrifices or individuals engaging in early morning worship or activity. English translations often render it simply as 'morning' or 'of the morning', but this can obscure the direct association with the very beginning of the day and the cultural significance of dawn in ancient thought. The term is not frequently found in non-literary papyri.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from ὄρθρος; relating to the dawn, i.e. matutinal (as an epithet of Venus, especially brilliant in the early day):--morning.
Root Family
ὀρθρ- (orthrízō) — to rise early, to be at dawn, to act at daybreak
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| G3719 | ὀρθρίζω | was rising at dawn |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3720-01 |
ὀρθριναὶ | orthrinai | ADJ.S NOM F PL |
early | dawn ones | dawn ones | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3720-01 |
Luke 24:22 | ὀρθριναὶ | orthrinai | ADJ.S NOM F PL |
early | dawn ones | dawn ones |