ὀστράκινος
ostrákinos
G3749 attributive adjective
SILEX Entry
Definition
Made of clay, earthenware; pertaining to clay or pottery, especially describing objects fashioned from baked clay, such as jars, vessels, or tiles. By extension, can characterize something as fragile, breakable, or lacking durability, in contrast to objects of metal or stone.
Semantic Range
made of clay, clay vessel, earthenware, earthen, fragile, perishable, cheap (as opposed to valuable material)
Root / Etymology
Derived from ὄστρακον (ostrakon, 'pottery shard, earthenware, broken piece of pottery') with the adjectival suffix -ινος (-inos), indicating 'made of' or 'pertaining to.' Related to the root ὀστρακ-.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical and Hellenistic Greek, ὀστράκινος typically referred to anything made from baked clay, including vessels, potsherds, tiles, or bricks. In literary and documentary sources, its use ranges from the literal (clay products) to the figurative (e.g., describing something or someone as fragile or perishable). In the Septuagint and the New Testament (e.g., 2 Corinthians 4:7), the term is employed metaphorically for human bodies or possessions, highlighting their transience and susceptibility to destruction compared to divine or lasting things. English translations often simply render it 'earthen' or 'earthenware,' but this can obscure connotations of fragility or cheapness. The word preserves a subtle contrast in the Greco-Roman world between ordinary, breakable vessels of clay and the more valuable, enduring objects of metal, stone, or precious materials. The adjective shares its base with ὄστρακον, also meaning 'shell' but in most Greek it overwhelmingly denotes 'potsherd' or related ceramic material; thus, 'oyster' as in the Strong's gloss is misleading for this formation.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from ("oyster") (a tile, i.e. terra cotta); earthen-ware, i.e. clayey; by implication, frail:--of earth, earthen.
Root Family
ὀστράκινος (ostrákinos) — pottery, clay, earthenware, fragile
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3749-02 |
ὀστρακίνοις | ostrakinois | ADJ.A DAT N PL |
earthen | to earthenware things | earthenware | 1 |
G3749-01 |
ὀστράκινα | ostrakina | ADJ.S NOM N PL |
earthen | earthenware things | earthenware | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3749-02 |
2 Corinthians 4:7 | ὀστρακίνοις | ostrakinois | ADJ.A DAT N PL |
earthen | to earthenware things | earthenware |
G3749-01 |
2 Timothy 2:20 | ὀστράκινα | ostrakina | ADJ.S NOM N PL |
earthen | earthenware things | earthenware |