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νοσέω

noséō

G3552 verb

SILEX Entry

Root νοσ- to be ill, to be diseased, to suffer

Definition

To be ill, to suffer from disease, either physically or, more commonly in figurative usages, to be morbidly or obsessively fixated on something. In the New Testament context, the word often carries a figurative sense, describing an unhealthy interest, obsession, or fixation, particularly with controversial subjects, disputes, or speculative talk. The core meaning is to be afflicted or diseased, extending into a metaphorical usage indicating unhealthy spiritual or intellectual preoccupation.

Semantic Range

to be ill, to suffer from disease, to be afflicted, to be morbidly obsessed, to harbor an unhealthy or diseased craving or fixation (esp. intellectually or morally)

Root / Etymology

From νόσος (nosos), meaning 'disease' or 'sickness,' with the verb-forming ending -έω. It thus literally means 'to be diseased' or 'to be sick.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Classical Greek, νοσέω can refer literally to being ill, but its use in post-classical and Hellenistic Greek, including the New Testament (e.g., 1 Timothy 6:4, 2 Timothy 2:23), is primarily figurative. Here, it signifies an unhealthy or morbid obsession, often with regards to quarrels about words, irrelevant disputes, or teachings deviating from sound instruction. English translations like 'dote' or 'have an unhealthy craving' attempt to render this nuance but may not fully capture the pathological sense inherent in the term. Its metaphorical extension reflects typical Koine Greek tendencies to use medical terminology for intellectual and moral conditions (compare ὑγιαίνω, 'to be healthy'). The term is rare in the Septuagint and other Greek literature but emerges in medical writers for literal illness, and in philosophical or rhetorical contexts for unhealthy fixations of thought or character.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from νόσος; to be sick, i.e. (by implication, of a diseased appetite) to hanker after (figuratively, to harp upon):--dote.

Root Family

νόσος (nosos) — illness, disease, sickness

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G3554 νόσος to diseases

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3552-01 νοσῶν noson V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M SG doting a bodily disease being morbidly fixated 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3552-01 1 Timothy 6:4 νοσῶν noson V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M SG doting a bodily disease being morbidly fixated
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