← G1605 G1607 →

ἐκπνέω

ekpnéō

G1606 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To breathe out, to exhale; in particular, to expire—used especially in reference to breathing out one's last breath, i.e., to die (within narratives of death). In broader contexts, the term can refer simply to exhaling or letting out breath, though in Koine Greek and the New Testament, it is attested solely with the sense of dying.

Semantic Range

to exhale, to breathe out, to expire, to breathe one's last, to die (in the sense of ceasing to breathe)

Root / Etymology

Compound formed from the preposition ἐκ ('out of, from') and the verb πνέω ('to blow, to breathe'). Thus, literally, 'to breathe out.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ἐκπνέω is rarely attested, and where used, refers to exhaling or breathing out. In Hellenistic and Koine Greek, the term carried a specialized, euphemistic sense referring to death—'to breathe out one's last (breath).' In the New Testament, ἐκπνέω appears only in the Gospels (e.g., Mark 15:37, 39; Luke 23:46) and always in narrative descriptions of dying, corresponding to 'to expire' in English. The traditional translation 'give up the ghost' is a later English idiom; the Greek expression is physiologically descriptive rather than theologically loaded. LXX usage is either absent or follows a similar pattern through cognate constructions. ἐκπνέω is distinct from other verbs of dying (ἀποθνῄσκω, τελευτάω), as it focuses on the physical act of exhalation as sign of death, and from πνέω, which refers more generally to breathing or blowing. The metaphorical/theological sense sometimes implied in English translation traditions (esp. KJV's 'give up the ghost') is not present in the original Greek.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἐκ and πνέω; to expire:--give up the ghost.

Root Family

ἐκπνέω (ekpneō) — to breathe out, to exhale, to expire

Root πνε- to breathe, to blow, to exhale

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1606-01 ἐξέπνευσεν exepneusen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG breathed his last he breathed out he breathed out 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1606-01 Mark 15:37 ἐξέπνευσεν exepneusen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG breathed his last he breathed out he breathed out
G1606-01 Mark 15:39 ἐξέπνευσεν exepneusen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG he breathed his last he breathed out he breathed out
G1606-01 Luke 23:46 ἐξέπνευσεν exepneusen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG He breathed His last he breathed out he breathed out
← G1605 Greek Lexicon G1607 →