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ἐκψύχω

ekpsýchō

G1634 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To breathe out, to expire (in the sense of exhalation associated with death); most often to die, especially with focus on the act of the breath or spirit departing the body. In Koine Greek, the term is often used in narrative contexts to mark physical death, highlighting the moment when the living breath leaves. In extended or figurative senses, it can also carry the idea of collapse or cessation.

Semantic Range

to breathe out, to expire, to breathe one's last, to die, to give up one's breath or life

Root / Etymology

From the preposition ἐκ ('out of') and the verb ψύχω ('to blow, breathe, make cold'); literally, 'to breathe out.' The verb combines the sense of exhaling one's final breath, especially at the moment of death. No certain relation to ψυχή ('soul, life') except for the common Indo-European root for breath.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, compound verbs formed with ἐκ- often intensify or specify the verbal action (here, the 'out' element specifies the departure of breath). In Koine Greek (especially the New Testament), ἐκψύχω appears only rarely, most notably in contexts describing death (e.g., Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46, Acts 5:5,10). The phrase 'yield up the ghost' in older English Bibles translates this word, but it can mislead modern readers—'ghost' here refers to 'spirit' or 'breath,' not a disembodied being. ἐκψύχω does not inherently carry religious or metaphysical meaning; rather, it refers simply to breathing out life, i.e., dying. It is not used for non-bodily departure or for non-literal death. Compared to ἀποθνῄσκω ('to die'), ἐκψύχω focuses on the exit of breath as the physiological sign of death. The verb is absent from the Septuagint and rare in classical sources, being more typical of Hellenistic and later Greek to describe the act of breathing one's last. Modern translations often render it simply 'to expire' or 'to die.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἐκ and ψύχω; to expire:--give (yield) up the ghost.

Root Family

ἐκψύχω (ekpsuchō) — to breathe, to blow, to expire

Root ψυχ- to breathe, to blow, to expire

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1634-01 ἐξέψυξεν exepsuxen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG breathed her last expired expired 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1634-01 Acts 5:5 ἐξέψυξεν exepsuxen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG breathed his last expired expired
G1634-01 Acts 5:10 ἐξέψυξεν exepsuxen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG breathed her last expired expired
G1634-01 Acts 12:23 ἐξέψυξεν exepsuxen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG died expired expired
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