Φόρον

Phóron

G5410 noun

SILEX Entry

Root φορ- public square, marketplace, assembly place

Definition

A forum; a public market-place or meeting-place, especially in a Roman city or town, primarily serving as the central place for commercial, judicial, and social activities. Also refers to a specific roadside station or settlement designated as 'Forum' on the Appian Way.

Semantic Range

Roman forum, public market-place, settlement or station designated as 'Forum', designated location on a Roman road

Root / Etymology

Borrowed from the Latin 'forum', meaning 'market-place', 'public square', or 'assembly place'. The Greek term Φόρον is a direct transliteration rather than being derived through native Greek roots.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Φόρον appears only once in the New Testament (Acts 28:15), and always in reference to a fixed geographic location, 'Forum of Appius' (Φόρον Ἀππίου), which identifies a station or settlement along the Appian Way, a major Roman road leading to Rome. The term does not refer to an abstract market or judicial forum in Greek usage, but specifically to the Roman institution or location. This usage reflects Hellenistic and Roman influence in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly in areas with Roman administration or settlements. Earlier Greek has its own terms for a central marketplace or assembly space, such as ἀγορά, but Φόρον is distinctively Latin. English translations sometimes render the phrase simply as 'Forum', 'Appius Forum', or 'the market of Appius', but these may obscure the specifically Latin origin and context as a named place on a Roman road.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of Latin origin; a forum or market-place; only in comparative with Ἄππιος; a station on the Appian road:--forum.

Root Family

Φόρον (Phoron) — public square, marketplace, assembly place

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G5410-01 Φόρου phorou N GEN N SG Forum of the forum 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G5410-01 Acts 28:15 Φόρου phorou N GEN N SG Forum of the forum