κῶλον
kōlon
G2966 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Limb or member of a body, typically referencing an arm, leg, or similar appendage; by extension, a part or segment of an organism, and in some contexts (especially in LXX use) a corpse or carcass, with emphasis on dismemberment or physical remains.
Semantic Range
limb of the body, part of a body, member or segment (of plant or object), corpse, carcase, rhetorical clause or segment
Root / Etymology
From an uncertain root, but possibly related to, or derived from, the verb κολάζω ('to curtail, prune, mutilate, punish'), reflecting the idea of part cut from a whole. The exact etymology is uncertain, but the semantic field is associated with separation or cutting off from a whole.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, κῶλον primarily refers to a limb or joint of the body (e.g. arm, leg), and can also be used more generally for a part, member, or segment, including parts of plants (branches, boughs), objects, or even clauses in rhetoric (as in the technical sense in literary analysis). In medical and anatomical texts, it consistently denotes a physical limb. In Hellenistic Greek, particularly in the Septuagint (e.g., 1 Kings 17:21, Ezekiel 37:1), κῶλον can also mean 'corpse' or 'body,' usually with an emphasis on dismemberment or the remains of the dead. In these contexts, κῶλον highlights the fragmentary state of a body, as opposed to more typical terms for 'body in whole' such as σῶμα. In the New Testament, the term does not appear, but its usage in related literature may influence interpretation of references to limbs or bodies as divided or separated. English translations sometimes render κῶλον as 'carcase,' but this only captures one aspect of its semantic range. Its rhetorical sense (member or clause, as in the structure of a sentence) is evident in post-classical and rhetorical Greek but less so in biblical contexts.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from the base of κολάζω; a limb of the body (as if lopped):--carcase.
Root Family
κῶλον (kōlon) — part, limb, member, segment
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G2966-01 |
κῶλα | kola | N NOM N PL |
bodies | limbs | limbs | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G2966-01 |
Hebrews 3:17 | κῶλα | kola | N NOM N PL |
bodies | limbs | limbs |