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ἄσιτος

ásitos

G777 substantive adjective

SILEX Entry

Definition

Deprived of or abstaining from food, fasting, hungry. The word primarily denotes a state of not partaking of food, whether voluntarily (fasting) or involuntarily (hunger, not supplied with food). In broader contexts, it can refer to someone who is not provided with their basic nourishment.

Semantic Range

being without food, hungry, fasting (voluntarily or involuntarily), abstaining from food, unfed

Root / Etymology

Formed from the privative prefix ἀ- (a-, indicating 'without') and σῖτος (sitos, 'grain', 'food'). The construction means 'without food'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ἄσιτος is found from at least the 5th century BCE (e.g., Herodotus) with the meaning 'without food, unfed, fasting, hungry', often describing people (or, rarely, animals) who have not eaten. It could apply to those who are fasting deliberately (for ritual, medical, or other reasons) or are suffering from lack of food. In the Septuagint and Koine Greek, ἄσιτος retains these senses. In the New Testament (e.g., Acts 27:33), it is used in the context of the shipwreck narrative to denote a group of people who had not eaten for a long period — indicating both physical exhaustion and lack of nourishment, possibly with an overtone of involuntary fasting due to circumstance rather than ritual or ascetic motives. English translations often render it as 'fasting', but this can be misleading if read through later religious practices; it is best understood as 'having gone without food'.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from Α (as a negative particle) and σῖτος; without (taking) food:--fasting.

Root Family

ἄσιτος (asitos) — without food, hungry, fasting, unfed

Root σιτ- to eat, to take food, grain (as food)

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G777-01 ἄσιτοι asitoi ADJ.S NOM M PL without food foodless ones without food 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G777-01 Acts 27:33 ἄσιτοι asitoi ADJ.S NOM M PL without food foodless ones without food
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