κίνησις
kínēsis
G2796
SILEX Entry
Definition
Movement; the act, process, or state of being set in motion. In broader usage, it can refer to physical movement, change in position, or the initiation of action. Within various contexts, it may describe literal physical displacement or figurative agitation or stirring, including inner agitation or excitement.
Semantic Range
movement, motion, stirring, physical displacement, agitation, internal excitement or emotional stirring
Root / Etymology
From the verb κινέω (to move, to set in motion), itself derived from the root κιν- (to move). The suffix -σις forms an abstract noun denoting the action or process.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, κίνησις primarily refers to motion or change, often in philosophical and scientific contexts (e.g., Aristotle distinguishes κίνησις, 'motion/change,' from στάσις, 'rest/stasis'). By the Hellenistic and Koine periods, it maintains the fundamental sense of 'movement,' but can also describe emotional agitation or mental stirring. In the Septuagint and New Testament, κίνησις is rare but generally retains the sense of movement or a stirring, whether literal (as in a physical disturbance) or figurative (as in the stirring of emotions or crowds). Eighteen-century and modern Bible translations sometimes obscure this range by using simplified English glosses such as 'moving' or 'stirring,' but the Greek term may encompass both physical and metaphorical senses. It should be distinguished from terms such as δρόμος (race, course) or ἀναστάτωσις (commotion, disturbance), which have more specific connotations of disorder or competitive movement.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from κινέω; a stirring:--moving.
Word Forms
0 distinct forms
No word forms found for this Strong's number.
Occurrences in Scripture
0 occurrences
No occurrences found.