Λυκία

Lykía

G3073 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A region located on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor (modern southwestern Turkey), known as Lycia. Refers to the geographic area, its people, or things associated with it. Often appears as a toponym designating the territory through which travelers passed or where events took place in Hellenistic and early Roman times. It consistently denotes the specific region, and sometimes the administrative province, in Asia Minor.

Semantic Range

Lycia (the geographic region in Asia Minor); relating to the territory, region, or people of Lycia; used as a toponym or ethnonym in geographical, historical, and literary contexts

Root / Etymology

From Λυκία (Lycia), the ancient name for a territory in southwestern Asia Minor. The etymology is uncertain; traditional explanations link it to the Greek λύκος ('wolf'), but this is likely folk etymology. The name may derive from pre-Greek or Anatolian linguistic origins.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Λυκία refers consistently to the region of Lycia in the southwestern corner of Asia Minor, bounded by Caria to the west and Pamphylia to the east. The term appears in Greek literature (e.g., Homer, Herodotus) as well as Hellenistic and Roman sources, indicating both a cultural-ethnic group (the Lycians) and a political territory. In the New Testament (Acts 27:5), it marks a specific geographic location encountered during Paul's travels. The term does not carry religious or ethnic connotations beyond its geographic reference. English translations often simply use 'Lycia,' which accurately preserves its referent. The connection to λύκος ('wolf') is traditional but linguistically unsupported; modern scholarship favors an Anatolian, rather than Greek, origin.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably remotely from λύκος; Lycia, a province of Asia Minor:--Lycia.

Root Family

Λυκία (Lykia) — Lycia (region), Lycia (territory or province), relating to Lycia

Root Λυκ- Lycia (region), relating to Lycia

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3073-01 Λυκίας lukias N GEN F SG of Lycia of Lycia Lycia 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3073-01 Acts 27:5 Λυκίας lukias N GEN F SG of Lycia of Lycia Lycia