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παραλέγομαι

paralégomai

G3881 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To sail past or along beside, to travel by sea near a specific location. The word primarily denotes the action of a ship passing close to or along the shore of a geographical feature. In extended or figurative usage (rare outside nautical contexts), it can refer generally to moving past or alongside any object.

Semantic Range

to sail past, to sail along the shore of, to pass by (nautical), to make one's course near (by sea)

Root / Etymology

From παρά (beside, near) and λέγω in its older sense ('to lay, arrange'), not the more common Koine sense ('to speak'). The compound thus originally means 'to lay (one's course) beside.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Koine Greek, παραλέγομαι is a specialized nautical term. Attested especially in the context of ancient navigation, its primary use in both the Septuagint and the New Testament is to describe a ship passing close by a particular place (Acts 27:8, 'we sailed past' or 'coasted by'). The verb is middle voice, reflecting the subject's direct involvement or interest in the action (often the crew or passengers). Classical usage of the simplex λέγω as 'to lay' had largely become obsolete by the Hellenistic period, so the meaning in παραλέγομαι appears idiomatic within the nautical lexicon. Modern English translations typically render the term as 'sailed past,' but this sometimes underplays the deliberate navigation implied by the root. The verb is rare in non-nautical contexts; its use in literature outside biblical or technical sources is limited.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from παρά and the middle voice of λέγω (in its original sense); (specially), to lay one's course near, i.e. sail past:--pass, sail by.

Root Family

λεγ- (epilégomai) — to speak, to select, to call

Root λεγ- to lay, to arrange, to pass alongside
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G1951 ἐπιλέγομαι being selected
G3004 λέγω I said
G4302 προλέγω we said beforehand
G4816 συλλέγω is being gathered together
G483 ἀντιλέγω to speak against

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3881-01 παραλεγόμενοι paralegomenoi V PRS MID PTCP NOM M PL coasting along sailing along beside sailing along beside 1
G3881-02 παρελέγοντο parelegonto V IMPF MID IND 3P PL sailed along they were sailing beside they were sailing beside 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3881-01 Acts 27:8 παραλεγόμενοι paralegomenoi V PRS MID PTCP NOM M PL coasting along sailing along beside sailing along beside
G3881-02 Acts 27:13 παρελέγοντο parelegonto V IMPF MID IND 3P PL sailed along they were sailing beside they were sailing beside
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