τίνω
tínō
G5099 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To pay, especially in the context of paying a penalty or price; to make payment, often with the nuance of recompensing or discharging a debt or debt of justice, sometimes carrying the sense of suffering the consequences (like punishment or vengeance). In many contexts, the emphasis is on the act of fulfilling an obligation or penalty rather than mere transactional payment.
Semantic Range
to pay (a debt or penalty), to be punished, to suffer consequences, to discharge an obligation, to recompense (often negatively, as revenge or vengeance)
Root / Etymology
From the root τίνω (τῖνω), of uncertain origin, but attested in archaic and classical Greek, used of paying a penalty or price. No clear connection with other Indo-European roots; etymology uncertain beyond the early Greek attestations.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, τίνω primarily meant 'to pay a penalty, undergo punishment, repay (a debt or damage),' with the core sense of discharging a required payment, often legal or judicial. While it could broadly mean 'to pay,' its standard nuance was negative or judicial: to pay the price for wrongdoing. Its future form (e.g., τείσομαι, with distinct morphology) sometimes appears in classical and later Greek, but is only distantly connected to τιμή ('honor, price') except by assonance. In the Septuagint and Koine literature, including the New Testament, τίνω continues its classical functions but is rare, generally reserved for contexts of Divine or judicial penalty, rather than ordinary commercial payments (for which ἀποδίδωμι is more common). English renderings such as 'pay a penalty,' 'be punished,' or 'suffer the consequences' often capture its meaning, but lack the sense of formal or judicial obligation inherent in Greek usage. Usage outside biblical literature also maintains the negative connotation, especially in legal or poetic texts. The present active (τίνω) is rare in the New Testament; its participial and compound forms (e.g., ἐκτίνω, 'to pay off') may appear more often in extrabiblical Koine.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
strengthened for a primary (which is only used as an alternate in certain tenses); to pay a price, i.e. as a penalty:--be punished with.
Root Family
τίνω (tinō) — to pay, to recompense, to undergo penalty
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G5099-01 |
τίσουσιν | tisousin | V FUT ACT IND 3P PL |
will pay | they will pay the penalty | they will pay | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G5099-01 |
2 Thessalonians 1:9 | τίσουσιν | tisousin | V FUT ACT IND 3P PL |
will pay | they will pay the penalty | they will pay |