← G4503 G4505 →

Ῥοῦφος

Rhoûphos

G4504 noun

SILEX Entry

Root Ῥουφ- red, ruddy, (used as a personal name: Rufus)

Definition

Personal name 'Rufus,' with the sense 'Red-haired' or 'Red'; used as a proper noun to designate an individual in the New Testament. Represents the Latin Rufus, which originally functioned as a cognomen signifying someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion. In the New Testament and contemporary Hellenistic literature, it serves exclusively as a personal name with no additional semantic extensions.

Semantic Range

proper personal name Rufus, originally 'red-haired'; no further extended meanings in Koine; in Latin and Greek usage: personal name, with occasional reference to red hair or ruddy complexion in earlier contexts

Root / Etymology

Borrowed from Latin 'Rufus,' meaning 'red' or 'red-haired.' The Greek form Ῥοῦφος directly transliterates the Latin name. The underlying Latin root 'rufus' derives from Proto-Indo-European *reudh-, 'red.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

Ῥοῦφος appears in the New Testament (Mark 15:21; Romans 16:13) as the name of an individual, likely of Latin or Roman background. The use of Ῥοῦφος as a personal name was widespread throughout the Roman Empire, especially in the western provinces, where Latin names were commonly adopted or Hellenized. In the Greek-speaking eastern Mediterranean, such names were regularly rendered in Greek script but retained their original Latin derivations and connotations. The meaning of the name, though originally descriptive ('red-haired'), had by this period become merely nominal, with no overt reference to physical traits in context. The use of Ῥοῦφος in the New Testament does not indicate ethnic, religious, or geographic identity but marks an individual possibly of Roman or Romanized background. English translations render this simply as the proper name 'Rufus,' and there are no significant semantic distinctions between the New Testament usage and broader patterns of Hellenistic onomastics.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of Latin origin; red; Rufus, a Christian:--Rufus.

Root Family

Ῥοῦφος (Rhouphos) — red, ruddy; Rufus (personal name)

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G4504-01 Ῥοῦφον rouphon N ACC M SG Rufus Rufus 1
G4504-02 Ῥούφου rouphou N GEN M SG of Rufus of Rufus 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G4504-02 Mark 15:21 Ῥούφου rouphou N GEN M SG of Rufus of Rufus
G4504-01 Romans 16:13 Ῥοῦφον rouphon N ACC M SG Rufus Rufus
← G4503 Greek Lexicon G4505 →