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παιδίσκη

paidískē

G3814 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A young girl, often specifically a female servant or slave in household contexts; generally denotes a girl of a youthful age, but particularly used to refer to a female in servile status within a domestic or social hierarchy. In legal and social contexts, it typically refers to a female slave, but may also indicate a young female attendant to a woman of higher status, or a girl in a household setting.

Semantic Range

young girl, female servant, female slave, maid, domestic attendant, handmaid

Root / Etymology

From παῖς (child, boy/girl, servant) with the diminutive suffix -ίσκη, forming a term meaning 'little girl' or 'girl of lower status'; directly related to the root for 'child' or 'servant' in Greek.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical and Hellenistic Greek, παιδίσκη designates a young girl, with nuance dependent on context: it may refer to a girl of free or enslaved status, but is more frequently used for a female slave or attendant, especially in domestic service. Unlike the related term παῖς, which could be used for both boys and girls and encompassed the senses of 'child' and 'servant,' παιδίσκη is specifically feminine and almost always carries a diminutive or affectionate sense, or marks lower age/status. In the Septuagint, it regularly translates Hebrew נַעֲרָה (na‘arah, 'young girl', 'servant girl'), but can also render שִׁפְחָה (shiphchah, 'female slave'), depending on the context, especially when the Hebrew refers to female servitude. In the New Testament, παιδίσκη most frequently refers to a female slave or servant, such as Hagar in Galatians 4:22-25, but can also sometimes simply mean 'girl' or 'servant girl' (e.g., the maid who recognizes Peter in Mark 14:66-69). The term does not specify ethnicity, but by the Hellenistic and Roman periods carried clear connotations of social hierarchy and legal status. English translations often use 'maid', 'slave girl', 'bondwoman', or 'servant girl', but no single English term fully captures the intersection of gender, youth, and servitude implied by παιδίσκη.

Translation Consistency

primary "maid" 9 occurrences

Paīdiskē typically denotes a young female in a domestic/servile role (maid, handmaid, maidservant). “Maid” is natural English, retains the female and servant sense, and maps well to the common biblical usage across contexts.

Alternatives (4 occurrences):
"servant girls" (1x) "maidservants" (1x) "slave-girl" (1x) "bondwoman" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

feminine diminutive of παῖς; a girl, i.e. (specially), a female slave or servant:--bondmaid(-woman), damsel, maid(-en).

Root Family

παιδίσκη (paidiskē) — child, youth, servant

Root παιδ- child, youth, servant

Word Forms

5 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3814-02 παιδίσκη paidiske N NOM F SG servant girl young female servant young female maid 5
G3814-04 παιδίσκης paidiskes N GEN F SG bondwoman of a servant girl of a maid 4
G3814-03 παιδίσκην paidisken N ACC F SG bondwoman young servant-girl bondwoman 2
G3814-01 παιδίσκας paidiskas N ACC F PL maidservants young slave girls maidservants 1
G3814-05 παιδισκῶν paidiskon N GEN F PL servant girls of servant girls servant girls 1

Occurrences in Scripture

13 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3814-02 Matthew 26:69 παιδίσκη paidiske N NOM F SG servant girl young female servant young female maid
G3814-05 Mark 14:66 παιδισκῶν paidiskon N GEN F PL servant girls of servant girls servant girls
G3814-02 Mark 14:69 παιδίσκη paidiske N NOM F SG maidservant young female servant young female maid
G3814-01 Luke 12:45 παιδίσκας paidiskas N ACC F PL maidservants young slave girls maidservants
G3814-02 Luke 22:56 παιδίσκη paidiske N NOM F SG maid young female servant young female maid
G3814-02 John 18:17 παιδίσκη paidiske N NOM F SG slave-girl young female servant young female maid
G3814-02 Acts 12:13 παιδίσκη paidiske N NOM F SG servant girl young female servant young female maid
G3814-03 Acts 16:16 παιδίσκην paidisken N ACC F SG slave-girl young servant-girl slave-girl
G3814-04 Galatians 4:22 παιδίσκης paidiskes N GEN F SG bondwoman of a servant girl of a maid
G3814-04 Galatians 4:23 παιδίσκης paidiskes N GEN F SG bondwoman of a servant girl of a maid
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