πάθος
páthos
G3806 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
An experience or state of strong feeling, especially one involving suffering, passion, or intense desire. Primary sense is that of a strong emotion, such as suffering or passion (whether positive or negative). In some contexts, specifically refers to strong desires, often sexual or uncontrolled (i.e., lust or concupiscence).
Semantic Range
experience, suffering, emotion, passion, strong feeling, intense desire, lust, inordinate affection, concupiscence
Root / Etymology
From the alternate stem of πάσχω ('to suffer, to experience'), forming a noun that denotes the process or state of undergoing an experience or strong feeling.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, πάθος broadly refers to any experience or state involving strong emotions, such as suffering, intense longing, or physical/mental condition—positive or negative. It is a central term in rhetoric (notably Aristotle's distinction between πάθος, λόγος, ἦθος), meaning the arousal of feeling in audiences. In Hellenistic and Koine Greek, it retains its emotional force but also narrows in some texts, especially moral-philosophical and Jewish/Christian literature, to denote uncontrollable or base passions, particularly sexual desire or lust. In the Septuagint, it rarely occurs but may signify suffering or passionate desire, often in contexts warning against unrestrained impulses. In the New Testament (cf. Romans 1:26; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:5), it regularly denotes intense, often illicit or unregulated passion, especially of a sexual nature, which is distinguished from other impulses such as ἐπιθυμία (desire, craving) or ὀργή (anger, wrath). Standard English translations such as 'affection', 'passion', 'lust', or 'inordinate affection' may not fully differentiate the range from general suffering/emotion to more narrowly moralized or sexualized meanings. In philosophy, especially Stoic thought, πάθος was often contrasted with ἀπάθεια (freedom from passion) as part of moral discipline.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from the alternate of πάσχω; properly, suffering ("pathos"), i.e. (subjectively) a passion (especially concupiscence):-- (inordinate) affection, lust.
Root Family
παθ- (páthēma) — to undergo, to experience, to suffer, to feel
Word Forms
3 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3806-01 |
πάθη | pathe | N ACC N PL |
passions | he/she may undergo | passions | 1 |
G3806-02 |
πάθει | pathei | N DAT N SG |
passion | to intense passion | in intense passion | 1 |
G3806-03 |
πάθος | pathos | N ACC N SG |
lust | strong passion | passion | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3806-01 |
Romans 1:26 | πάθη | pathe | N ACC N PL |
passions | he/she may undergo | passions |
G3806-03 |
Colossians 3:5 | πάθος | pathos | N ACC N SG |
lust | strong passion | passion |
G3806-02 |
1 Thessalonians 4:5 | πάθει | pathei | N DAT N SG |
passion | to intense passion | in intense passion |