← G4168 G4170 →

ποῖος

poîos

G4169 determiner

SILEX Entry

Definition

Interrogative adjective indicating quality or kind—'of what sort,' 'what kind,' 'what manner of.' The word is used to ask about the nature, quality, or character of something or someone, not merely to identify or single out. Contextually, it seeks information about the distinctive character or type of the subject, for example, 'what sort of man' or 'what kind of works.' In some cases it may extend to imply degree, implying 'how great' or 'what degree of.'

Semantic Range

of what sort, what kind, what manner of, of what nature, of what quality, what degree (rare), what sort of person, how distinguished

Root / Etymology

Likely formed from the interrogative particle ποῦ ('where?') and the relative adjective οἷος ('such as, of what sort'). Its origin combines an interrogative with an adjectival quality-term, producing a word for asking about the type or manner of a thing. See also Latin 'qualis' for semantic parallel. Exact etymological sequence debated; some view the prefix as related to 'ποιεῖν' (to do/make), but standard scholarship prefers the ποῦ + οἷος explanation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Used throughout classical and Hellenistic Greek as the standard term for asking about quality or nature rather than specific identity. In the Septuagint and New Testament, ποῖος usually appears in direct questions concerning the sort of thing, person, or action under discussion, e.g. Matthew 8:27 'ποταπός' (variant of ποῖος) ἄνθρωπος ('what sort of man'). Distinct from τίς (which asks 'who?' or 'which one?' as a marker of identity or quantity); ποῖος asks for the essential nature or defining characteristic. English translations sometimes blur this nuance by rendering both ποῖος and τίς as 'which' or 'what,' but ποῖος inherently asks about type rather than number or mere identification. In Koine Greek, commonly paired with nouns denoting person, deed, or thing. Also occasionally used adverbially to inquire about the quality or manner of something, though this is less common. The related term ποταπός overlaps in some passages but often with a more emphatic or expressive sense ('what remarkable sort!').

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from the base of ποῦ and οἷος; individualizing interrogative (of character) what sort of, or (of number) which one:--what (manner of), which.

Root Family

ποι- (eupoiḯa) — to do, to make, to accomplish

Root ποι- of what sort, of what quality, what kind
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G2140 εὐποιΐα of beneficence
G3697 ὁποῖος what kind of
G4160 ποιέω he was doing

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4169-01 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of 19
G4169-04 ποίῳ poio DET DAT M SG what I make what kind 5
G4169-05 ποῖον poion PRO.Q ACC N SG what kind of the one making what kind of 4
G4169-03 ποίας poias PRO.Q ACC F PL what of what kind (feminine plural/genitive feminine singular) of what kind 3
G4169-02 ποίαν poian DET ACC F SG what what kind of what kind of 1
G4169-06 ποίου poiou DET GEN M SG what kind of of what sort of of what sort of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

33 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4169-03 Matthew 19:18 ποίας poias PRO.Q ACC F PL Which? of what kind (feminine plural/genitive feminine singular) of what kind
G4169-01 Matthew 21:23 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-01 Matthew 21:24 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-01 Matthew 21:27 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-01 Matthew 22:36 ποία poia DET NOM F SG which to what sort of what kind of
G4169-01 Matthew 24:42 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of in what sort of
G4169-01 Matthew 24:43 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of at what watch
G4169-01 Mark 11:28 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what kind of
G4169-01 Mark 11:29 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-01 Mark 11:33 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-01 Mark 12:28 ποία poia PRO.Q NOM F SG which to what sort of which
G4169-03 Luke 5:19 ποίας poias PRO.Q GEN F SG by what way of what kind (feminine plural/genitive feminine singular) of what kind
G4169-01 Luke 6:32 ποία poia PRO.Q NOM F SG what to what sort of to what sort of
G4169-01 Luke 6:33 ποία poia PRO.Q NOM F SG what to what sort of what sort
G4169-01 Luke 6:34 ποία poia PRO.Q NOM F SG what to what sort of what kind
G4169-01 Luke 12:39 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-01 Luke 20:2 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what kind of
G4169-01 Luke 20:8 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what kind of
G4169-01 Luke 24:19 ποῖα poia PRO.Q ACC N PL What things to what sort of what things
G4169-05 John 10:32 ποῖον poion PRO.Q ACC N SG which the one making which kind
G4169-04 John 12:33 ποίῳ poio DET DAT M SG what I make what kind of
G4169-04 John 18:32 ποίῳ poio DET DAT M SG what I make what kind
G4169-04 John 21:19 ποίῳ poio DET DAT M SG by what I make of what kind
G4169-01 Acts 4:7 ποίᾳ poia DET DAT F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-04 Acts 4:7 ποίῳ poio DET DAT N SG what I make what sort of
G4169-05 Acts 7:49 ποῖον poion DET ACC M SG what-kind-of the one making what kind
G4169-03 Acts 23:34 ποίας poias DET GEN F SG what of what kind (feminine plural/genitive feminine singular) of what kind
G4169-06 Romans 3:27 ποίου poiou DET GEN M SG what kind of of what sort of of what sort of
G4169-04 1 Corinthians 15:35 ποίῳ poio DET DAT N SG what I make what kind
G4169-01 James 4:14 ποία poia DET NOM F SG what to what sort of what sort of
G4169-05 1 Peter 1:11 ποῖον poion DET ACC M SG what kind of the one making what kind of
G4169-05 1 Peter 2:20 ποῖον poion DET NOM N SG what kind of the one making what kind of
G4169-02 Revelation 3:3 ποίαν poian DET ACC F SG what what kind of what kind of
← G4168 Greek Lexicon G4170 →