κοινωνικός (G2843) — Greek Lexicon

κοινωνικός

koinōnikós

G2843 predicate adjective

SILEX Entry

Root κοινων- to share, to participate, to be in fellowship

Definition

Inclined toward sharing, generous in participation or distribution, especially with regard to material resources; disposed to fellowship or partnership. The term denotes a readiness to engage in or promote communal sharing, often in a financial or material sense, but can also refer more generally to being sociable or cooperative.

Semantic Range

disposed to share, generous, liberal, inclined toward partnership, sociable, openhanded, willing to participate or contribute, fostering fellowship or community

Root / Etymology

from κοινωνός (participant, partner, sharer) with the adjectival suffix -ικός, thus describing that which pertains to or displays the quality of κοινωνία (sharing, fellowship, partnership).

Historical & Contextual Notes

κοινωνικός appears infrequently in classical and Hellenistic sources, but when attested, it often conveys the core idea of being suited to or disposed toward partnership, sharing, or general sociability (cf. Aristotle, Ethica Nicomachea 4.1). In early Christian literature, including the New Testament (e.g., 1 Timothy 6:18), it specifically denotes a person's disposition to generosity and willingness to share one's resources. English translations often render it 'willing to communicate,' though this reflects an older sense of 'communicate' meaning 'to share' rather than modern meanings limited to verbal exchange. The nuance of financial or material generosity comes to the fore in some contexts but is not the only possible meaning; the term's semantic field includes broader concepts of cooperation and partnership. Related terms like κοινωνός (partner, sharer) and κοινωνία (participation, sharing, fellowship) share this emphasis on joint participation and community.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from κοινωνός; communicative, i.e. (pecuniarily) liberal:--willing to communicate.

Root Family

κοινωνικός (koinōnikos) — sharing, participating, fostering fellowship, generous partnership

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	Occurrences
`G2843-01`	κοινωνικούς	koinonikous	`ADJ.P ACC M PL`	ready to share	sharing‑minded ones	1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1
`G2843-01`	1 Timothy 6:18	κοινωνικούς	koinonikous	`ADJ.P ACC M PL`	ready to share	sharing‑minded ones

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