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κολωνία

kolōnía

G2862 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A settlement or town established by Roman authority, particularly for veterans or Roman citizens, often with privileged status and some degree of self-governance. More broadly, a municipally organized community modeled on Roman institutions and legal structures. In New Testament and Hellenistic contexts, specifically denotes a city granted Roman colony status with associated civic and legal privileges.

Semantic Range

Roman colony, municipally organized Roman settlement, community of Roman citizens with special legal status, city with Roman privileges

Root / Etymology

From Latin colonia, adopted directly into Greek (κολωνία) without significant morphological adaptation. The Latin root colō-, meaning 'to cultivate, to settle,' underlies the original sense of 'a settlement' or 'established community.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, κολωνία refers specifically to cities founded or reorganized under Roman law, often as settlements for discharged Roman soldiers or citizens, conferring privileges such as exemption from tribute, Roman citizenship for inhabitants, and local self-governance according to Roman legal norms. The term is rare in Greek before the Roman period, reflecting its Latin origin. In the New Testament, κολωνία appears in Acts 16:12, referring to Philippi, highlighting the city's special status and the presence of Roman administrative and social structures. The English tradition translates κολωνία as 'colony,' accurately reflecting the administrative sense but lacking the contextual nuance regarding Roman civic institutions. Compare with πόλις (polis, 'city'), which denotes a city more generally without implication of Roman status. The sense of κολωνία is distinct from earlier Greek colonial vocabulary (e.g., ἀποικία, 'apoikia'), which refers to non-Roman, often Hellenic-founded settlements.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of Latin origin; a Roman "colony" for veterans:--colony.

Root Family

κολωνία (kolōnia) — settlement, established colony, Roman civic settlement

Root κολων- to settle, to establish a settlement, colony

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G2862-01 κολωνία kolonia N NOM F SG a colony a Roman colony a Roman colony 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G2862-01 Acts 16:12 κολωνία kolonia N NOM F SG a colony a Roman colony a Roman colony
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