ἀλεκτοροφωνία (G219) — Greek Lexicon

ἀλεκτοροφωνία

alektorophōnía

G219 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The time or act of the cock crowing; specifically, the period of night associated with the crowing of a rooster. Used to refer to a particular time before dawn, sometimes as a fixed point for reckoning the watches of the night in Greco-Roman and Second Temple period timekeeping. Other senses may include a general reference to the sound or event of a rooster crowing.

Semantic Range

the sound or act of a rooster crowing, a designated time period in the pre-dawn hours ('cockcrow'), the third or early morning night-watch, a time marker for events occurring before dawn

Root / Etymology

Compound from ἀλέκτωρ (rooster, cock) and φωνή (sound, voice), literally 'rooster-voice' or 'the crowing of a cock.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term ἀλεκτοροφωνία is rare in Greek literature, primarily appearing in the New Testament (e.g., Mark 13:35; 14:30, 14:72) to designate the time near early morning when roosters typically crow. In Roman and Hellenistic Jewish reckoning, the night was often divided into four watches, with 'cockcrow' (ἀλεκτοροφωνία) denoting the third or second-to-last watch (roughly 3 to 6 a.m.), a concept adopted in parts of the eastern Mediterranean, including Judea under Roman rule. While cockcrow as a sound is common across cultures, as a time marker it took on special importance for signaling imminent dawn and transition between night-watches. In the New Testament, the word is used metaphorically as a crucial moment, such as the time of Peter's denial. Traditional English translations regularly render the word as "cockcrow" or "cockcrowing," but this may mask its significance as a technical term for a specific night watch in Greco-Roman and Second Temple contexts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἀλέκτωρ and φωνή; cock-crow, i.e. the third night-watch:--cockcrowing.

Root Family

ἀλεκτοροφωνία (alektorophōnia) — rooster, sound, crowing

Root ἀλεκτορ-, φων- rooster, sound, crowing

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`G219-01`	ἀλεκτοροφωνίας	alektorophonias	`N GEN F SG`	at cockcrowing	of rooster-crowing	at cockcrowing	1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`G219-01`	Mark 13:35	ἀλεκτοροφωνίας	alektorophonias	`N GEN F SG`	at cockcrowing	of rooster-crowing	at cockcrowing

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