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πόνος

pónos

G4192 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Labor or hard work, frequently implying strenuous or exhausting physical or mental effort. Contextually, can denote distress, suffering, or painful exertion, and is also used of the anguish or hardship resulting from toil. In some settings, the term refers to the consequence (weariness, pain, or affliction) that arises from sustained exertion or hardship.

Semantic Range

labor, strenuous (or painful) work, hardship; distress, suffering, physical or mental pain, affliction, anguish

Root / Etymology

From a Proto-Indo-European root *pen- meaning 'toil, labor'; related to the base of πένης (penēs, 'poor man' or 'laborer'). The term is inherited within the Greek language, appearing in Homeric and classical sources.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, πόνος primarily meant hard labor, physical exertion, or trouble, especially in the context of farming, war, and heroic endeavor; it could also denote the resulting pain or hardship. In Hellenistic writers and the Septuagint, it expands to include mental and emotional suffering or distress, placing greater emphasis on the pain or anguish associated with toil. In the New Testament (e.g., Revelation), the word retains the dual sense of both arduous work and the pain or distress arising from it—translators have rendered it variously as 'toil,' 'pain,' 'suffering,' or 'hardship,' though no single English word consistently captures its full semantic range. The semantic overlap with terms like λύπη (grief, pain) and κάματος (weariness, toil) reflects the integrated Greek understanding of effort and the suffering it produces. The translation 'pain' in some English Bibles perhaps narrows the word's range, overlooking its primary association with hard work. Common from Homer through Koine periods; widespread in medical, ethical, and philosophical contexts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from the base of πένης; toil, i.e. (by implication) anguish:--pain.

Root Family

πόνος (ponos) — hard labor, strenuous work, hardship, painful exertion

Root πον- to work hard, labor, undergo hardship

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4192-01 πόνον ponon N ACC M SG concern strenuous labor labor 2
G4192-02 πόνος ponos N NOM M SG pain strenuous toil pain 1
G4192-03 πόνου ponou N GEN M SG pain of hard labor pain 1

Occurrences in Scripture

4 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4192-01 Colossians 4:13 πόνον ponon N ACC M SG concern strenuous labor labor
G4192-03 Revelation 16:10 πόνου ponou N GEN M SG pain of hard labor pain
G4192-01 Revelation 16:11 πόνων ponon N GEN M PL pains strenuous labor pains
G4192-02 Revelation 21:4 πόνος ponos N NOM M SG pain strenuous toil pain
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