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ὦ

ō

G5599 particle

SILEX Entry

Definition

A primary interjection used to call attention, address someone directly, or express an emotional exclamation. In direct address, it functions as a formal marker preceding a person's name or a title. It can also convey emotion such as lament, surprise, entreaty, or emphasis, depending on context. In many instances, it serves to highlight the importance or urgency of the address.

Semantic Range

marker of direct address, vocative marker, exclamation of emotion (such as entreaty, sorrow, surprise, admiration, protest)

Root / Etymology

etymology uncertain. Possibly inherited from Proto-Indo-European expressive forms or analogues, as found in vocalic address particles in many ancient languages.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In both classical and Koine Greek, ὦ is consistently used to mark formal or emphatic direct address, particularly before personal names, titles, or nouns in the vocative. Its use can be either neutral (simply indicating the vocative) or emotionally charged (expressing entreaty, lamentation, appeal, or strong feeling). In epic and classical literature, as well as the Septuagint and New Testament, it appears in prayers, invocations, admonitions, and utterances of grief or surprise. Later translation traditions often render ὦ as 'O' in English, especially in liturgical or poetic settings, but the English 'O' can under- or overstate the force of the Greek depending on the context. ὦ does not have a direct lexical equivalent in colloquial modern English, where its function is usually subsumed under punctuation (such as the vocative comma) or omitted.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primary interjection; as a sign of the vocative case, O; as a note of exclamation, oh:--O.

Root Family

ὁ (ho) — to designate as definite, to specify, to identify

Root ἀω to call, to address, to exclaim
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G1510 εἰμί the
G3588 ὁ the
G3739 ὅς the
G5037 τέ to the
G5598 Ω the

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G5599-01 ὦ o T O the O 17

Occurrences in Scripture

17 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G5599-01 Matthew 15:28 ὦ o-2 T O the O
G5599-01 Matthew 17:17 ὦ o-2 T O the O
G5599-01 Mark 9:19 ὦ o-2 T O the O
G5599-01 Luke 9:41 ὦ o-2 T O the O
G5599-01 Luke 24:25 ὦ o T O the O
G5599-01 Acts 1:1 ὦ o EXCL O the O
G5599-01 Acts 13:10 ὦ o T O the O
G5599-01 Acts 18:14 ὦ o-2 EXCL O the O
G5599-01 Acts 27:21 ὦ o-2 EXCL O the O
G5599-01 Romans 2:1 ὦ o EXCL O the O
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