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ὄρνεον

órneon

G3732 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A bird, especially a large or notable bird of prey; in some contexts, simply a bird or flying creature. While the general meaning is 'bird,' the term often carries the nuance of birds as animals of the air, sometimes focusing on their role as scavengers or ominous creatures, especially in apocalyptic or judgment scenes.

Semantic Range

bird in general, large bird, bird of prey, scavenger bird, collective birds, birds associated with omens or judgment

Root / Etymology

From ὄρνις (órnis, 'bird'), with a diminutive or collective neuter suffix –εον; the exact morphological history is not fully transparent, but likely formed on the base of ὄρνις to designate generic birds, particularly as a collective class.

Historical & Contextual Notes

ὄρνεον appears infrequently in extant Greek literature compared to ὄρνις, but is attested in Hellenistic and later prose. In the Septuagint and New Testament, ὄρνεον typically denotes birds in a collective or generic sense, and is especially used for birds involved in prophetic or apocalyptic imagery (e.g., birds gathering to feed on corpses after battle in Revelation 19:17, 21). Classical Greek more commonly employs ὄρνις for an individual bird, while ὄρνεον may have gained currency through Biblical and post-classical usage to serve as a collective or more somber term. English translations as 'bird' or 'fowl' are generally accurate, though the connotation in apocalyptic literature may not always be fully captured. There is overlap with πτηνόν ('winged creature' or 'flying thing'), but πτηνόν can include non-avian types and lacks the vivid, sometimes ominous connotations of ὄρνεον in eschatological contexts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

neuter of a presumed derivative of ὄρνις; a birdling:--bird, fowl.

Root Family

ὄρν- (órneon) — bird, flying creature

Root ὄρν- bird, flying creature

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3732-01 ὄρνεα ornea N NOM N PL birds birds birds 1
G3732-02 ὀρνέοις orneois N DAT N PL birds to birds birds 1
G3732-03 ὀρνέου orneou N GEN N SG bird of a bird of bird 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3732-03 Revelation 18:2 ὀρνέου orneou N GEN N SG bird of a bird of bird
G3732-02 Revelation 19:17 ὀρνέοις orneois N DAT N PL birds to birds birds
G3732-01 Revelation 19:21 ὄρνεα ornea N NOM N PL birds birds birds
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