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Κολοσσαί

Kolossaí

G2857 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Colossae; a city in the region of Phrygia in Asia Minor. Used specifically as a geographic designation referring to the ancient city called Colossae, especially in reference to the recipients of Paul's epistle. In the New Testament, it occurs as a toponym (place name), and does not denote an ethnic or political group.

Semantic Range

Colossae (city in Phrygia), location, toponym

Root / Etymology

The etymology is uncertain. Although sometimes associated with the Greek word "kolossos" (κολοσσός, meaning 'colossus' or 'statue'), this derivation is likely folk etymology. The name Colossae predates Hellenistic colonization and probably reflects older Phrygian or Anatolian origins. It is a transliteration of the local settlement's name into Greek.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Κολοσσἁι appears only as a proper noun in Koine Greek texts, most notably in Colossians 1:2, 1:21; 4:13, 4:15–16. The city's location is in the Lycus valley of western Asia Minor (modern Turkey), near Laodicea and Hierapolis. It was a significant city during the Persian and early Hellenistic periods, but had declined in size by the Roman period. In Classical Greek sources, the form may appear as Κολοσ(σ)αί or Κολοσσαί. English translations render the term "Colossae" (older: "Colosse"). The association with "colossal" is traditional but linguistically uncertain, and the form is a feminine plural because place names were often grammatically plural in Greek ("the Colossae"). There is no evidence that the name denoted anything beyond its function as a toponym. Related terms: the adjective Κολοσσαεύς (Colossaean, 'inhabitant of Colossae') occurs rarely. No significant theological connotations are attached to the name itself.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

apparently feminine plural of kolossos ("colossal"); Colossæ, a place in Asia Minor:--Colosse.

Root Family

Κολοσσαί (Kolossai) — place name, city, location

Root Κολοσσα- place name, location, city

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G2857-01 Κολοσσαῖς kolossais N DAT F PL Colossae to Colossae Kolossai 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G2857-01 Colossians 1:2 Κολοσσαῖς kolossais N DAT F PL Colossae to Colossae Kolossai
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