τόκος (G5110) — Greek Lexicon

τόκος

tókos

G5110 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Primary meaning: interest or profit yielded by money lent, i.e., the earnings or return acquired from lending money, usually expressed as a percentage. The term can refer to lawful interest and, in some contexts, illegitimate or excessive interest ('usury'). In non-financial contexts (chiefly classical Greek), it can refer to a 'birth' or the act of bringing forth offspring, but in Koine and especially New Testament usage, it primarily has the sense of money earned from lending.

Semantic Range

interest (financial return); usury (excessive or unlawful interest); income, gain; offspring (classical/concrete sense); result, yield (figurative)

Root / Etymology

From τίκτω ('to bear, bring forth, give birth'). Originally referred to offspring or something produced; later extended metaphorically to mean profit or yield (that which money 'brings forth').

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, τόκος most often meant 'birth' or 'offspring,' tied to the verb τίκτω. By the Hellenistic period, the financial sense became prominent, with τόκος used for 'interest' — the monetary yield from loans. In contemporaneous Jewish and Greco-Roman legal writings, the term frequently denotes both lawful and excessive financial interest. In the Septuagint, τόκος is the chief term used to render the Hebrew נֶשֶׁךְ (interest, usually forbidden on loans to fellow Israelites). The sense of 'usury' in some English translations reflects later Christian concerns about lending at interest, not necessarily the semantic field of the Greek term in antiquity. In the New Testament (Matt 25:27; Luke 19:23), τόκος signifies the legitimate expectation of financial return from entrusted capital, with no explicit connotation of exploitation. The semantic range in extra-biblical Koine includes figurative usage (e.g., the product or result of an action).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from the base of τίκτω; interest on money loaned (as a produce):--usury.

Root Family

τόκος (tokos) — that which is brought forth, financial interest, profit, yield

Root τικτ- to bring forth, to produce, to bear (offspring or result)

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`G5110-01`	τόκῳ	toko	`N DAT M SG`	interest	to interest	interest	2

Occurrences in Scripture

2 occurrences

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`G5110-01`	Matthew 25:27	τόκῳ	toko	`N DAT M SG`	interest	to interest	interest
`G5110-01`	Luke 19:23	τόκῳ	toko	`N DAT M SG`	interest	to interest	interest

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