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πώποτε

pṓpote

G4455 adverb

SILEX Entry

Definition

An adverb denoting 'ever' or 'at any time,' typically used in negative statements to mean 'never' or 'not ever.' In affirmations, it can mean 'at any time' or 'ever.' The term functions to specify indefinite time within rhetorical or emphatic questions and statements, often emphasizing that something has not occurred at any point in the past.

Semantic Range

ever, at any time, never (in negative constructions), at no time, yet (with negative force)

Root / Etymology

From -πω (an indefinite adverb often meaning 'as yet' or 'ever') and ποτε ('at some time, ever'). The word thus intensifies the indefiniteness of time, combining two adverbial elements of uncertainty or possibility.

Historical & Contextual Notes

πώποτε appears from classical through Hellenistic and Koine Greek, though it is comparatively rare. In the New Testament, it almost always occurs in negative statements (e.g., οὐδέπωποτε, 'never yet,' or οὐκ πώποτε, 'never'), often to stress the absolute nature of the negation. Its use is largely idiomatic, functioning as an emphatic negative. In classical Greek, it similarly appears within rhetorical questions or to reinforce an answer. Standard English translations usually render it as 'never' or 'at any time,' and its nuance as an emphatic or indefinite adverb is often difficult to capture with a single English expression. Distinguished from ποτε, which simply means 'ever' or 'once,' πώποτε adds a sense of exhaustive indefiniteness; it intensifies the temporal scope.

Translation Consistency

primary "ever" 6 occurrences

'Ever' is the most natural, commonly used English equivalent for πώποτε across its range — it conveys 'at any time' in affirmative contexts and, when combined with negation, yields the usual meaning 'never' or 'not ever.' It matches the majority of SILEX renderings and preserves the adverbial force and emphasis of the Greek.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from -πω and ποτέ; at any time, i.e. (with negative particle) at no time:--at any time, + never (…to any man), + yet, never man.

Root Family

πώποτε (pōpote) — ever, at any time, at any point

Root -πω,ποτε ever, at any time, at any point

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4455-01 πώποτε popote ADV ever at any time ever 6

Occurrences in Scripture

6 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4455-01 Luke 19:30 πώποτε popote ADV ever yet at any time ever
G4455-01 John 1:18 πώποτε popote ADV ever at any time ever
G4455-01 John 5:37 πώποτε popote ADV at any time at any time ever
G4455-01 John 6:35 πώποτε popote ADV ever at any time ever
G4455-01 John 8:33 πώποτε popote ADV ever at any time ever
G4455-01 1 John 4:12 πώποτε popote ADV ever at any time ever
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