ὅσος

hósos

G3745 relative pronoun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Relative pronoun or adjective indicating quantity, extent, or degree; conveys the sense of 'as much as,' 'as many as,' 'how great as,' or 'all that.' Used to denote the entirety, duration, or measure of persons, things, time, or qualities in a given context. May also introduce clauses expressing the degree to which something applies.

Semantic Range

as much/many/great as, how much/many/great, all that, whoever, whatever, however many, to the extent that, as long as, as far as, all those who, inasmuch as, the more, however long, to the degree that

Root / Etymology

From the relative pronoun ὅς ('who, which, that') with the addition of an intensive or quantitative suffix deriving from repetition ('reduplication'), thus intensifying the sense to mean 'however much/many.' Rooted in Indo-European pronominal stems relating to relative and interrogative pronouns.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Classical and Hellenistic Greek, ὅσος functions primarily as a quantitative relative pronoun or adjective, commonly used with both persons and things to refer to the amount or number in question. In the Septuagint and New Testament, it often expresses totality or sufficiency: 'all who,' 'as many as,' or 'however much.' In English translations, it is often rendered by a variety of phrases ('all that,' 'as much/many as,' 'whoever'), depending on grammatical construction, but the Greek preserves a more explicit sense of measure or extent. Unlike simple ὅς (who, which), ὅσος always implies a quantitative focus rather than mere identification. Common in expressions linking the scope of a statement to a group or total (e.g., 'as many as believed', 'however long he remained'). Used interchangeably in Koine with nouns of person or thing, singular or plural, and with abstract nouns for degrees or amounts. No exact equivalent in English; context determines rendering.

Translation Consistency

primary "many" 43 occurrences

Most occurrences translate the idea of number/extent; 'many' is the single, natural English word that best captures the typical sense of ὅσος (as many/as much/all those) across contexts and will provide a consistent, readable rendering in SIBI.

Alternatives (7 occurrences):
"much as" (6x) "long as" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

by reduplication from ὅς; as (much, great, long, etc.) as:--all (that), as (long, many, much) (as), how great (many, much), (in-)asmuch as, so many as, that (ever), the more, those things, what (great, -soever), wheresoever, wherewithsoever, which, X while, who(-soever).

Root Family

ὅσ- (hósos) — how much, how many, how great, as much as, as many as

Root ὅσ- how much, how many, how great, as much as, as many as
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G3746 ὅσπερ

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3745-01 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as 56
G3745-04 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL as many as all who many who 29
G3745-05 ὅσον oson PRO.R ACC M SG as long as as much as as much as 18
G3745-03 ὅσῳ oso PRO.R DAT N SG as by as much as by as much as 3
G3745-06 ὅσους osous PRO.R ACC M PL as many as as many as (them) as many as 3
G3745-02 ὅσαι osai DET NOM F PL as many as as many as (feminine) as many as 1

Occurrences in Scripture

110 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3745-01 Matthew 7:12 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatsoever as many things as as many things as
G3745-05 Matthew 9:15 ὅσον oson PRO.R ACC M SG as long as much as as long as
G3745-01 Matthew 13:44 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL as much as as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Matthew 13:46 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL that as many things as as many things as
G3745-04 Matthew 14:36 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL as many as all who as many as
G3745-01 Matthew 17:12 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Matthew 18:18 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Matthew 18:18 ὅσα osa-2 PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Matthew 18:25 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL that as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Matthew 21:22 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-06 Matthew 22:9 ὅσους osous PRO.R ACC M PL as many as as many as (them) as many as
G3745-01 Matthew 23:3 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-05 Matthew 25:40 ὅσον oson PRO.R ACC N SG as as much as as much as
G3745-05 Matthew 25:45 ὅσον oson PRO.R ACC N SG as much as as much as as much as
G3745-01 Matthew 28:20 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL things as many things as as many things as
G3745-05 Mark 2:19 ὅσον oson DET ACC M SG as long as as much as as much as
G3745-01 Mark 3:8 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL what as many things as as many things as
G3745-04 Mark 3:10 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL as many as all who as many as
G3745-01 Mark 3:28 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Mark 5:19 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL how as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Mark 5:20 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL how much as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Mark 6:30 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL what as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Mark 6:30 ὅσα osa-2 PRO.R ACC N PL what as many things as as many things as
G3745-04 Mark 6:56 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL as many as all who as many as
G3745-05 Mark 7:36 ὅσον oson PRO.R ACC N SG As much as as much as as much as
G3745-01 Mark 9:13 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Mark 10:21 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Mark 11:24 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Mark 12:44 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL that as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Luke 4:23 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatsoever as many things as as many things as
G3745-04 Luke 4:40 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL as many as all who many who
G3745-01 Luke 8:39 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL what as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Luke 8:39 ὅσα osa-2 PRO.R ACC N PL what as many things as as many things as
G3745-04 Luke 9:5 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL whosoever all who as many as
G3745-01 Luke 9:10 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL all that as many things as as many things as
G3745-05 Luke 11:8 ὅσων oson PRO.R GEN N PL as many as as much as as much as
G3745-01 Luke 12:3 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Luke 18:12 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL that as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 Luke 18:22 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL that as many things as as many things as
G3745-04 John 1:12 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL as many as all who as many as
G3745-01 John 4:29 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL things as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 John 4:45 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-05 John 6:11 ὅσον oson PRO.R ACC N SG as much as as much as as much as
G3745-04 John 10:8 ὅσοι osoi PRO.R NOM M PL whoever all who as many as
G3745-01 John 10:41 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 John 11:22 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 John 16:13 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 John 16:15 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL that as many things as as many things as
G3745-01 John 17:7 ὅσα osa PRO.R ACC N PL whatever as many things as as many things as
G3745-06 Acts 2:39 ὅσους osous PRO.R ACC M PL as many as as many as (them) as many as