ἀπεκδύομαι
apekdýomai
G554 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To strip off from oneself, to divest oneself of something completely. In core usage, it refers to the act of removing clothing or coverings from one's own person, often in a figurative sense for ceasing or abandoning certain qualities, practices, or obligations. In figurative contexts—especially in philosophical or ethical writings and New Testament passages—it denotes the renunciation or abandonment of old habits, social status, or former ways of life.
Semantic Range
to strip off (clothing, metaphoric or literal), to divest oneself, to renounce or abandon (habits, conditions, traits), to be separated from (metaphorically), to disassociate from
Root / Etymology
From ἀπό (away from, off) and ἐκδύω (to strip off, to take off clothing, to undress). It is the middle voice form, stressing subject's own interest or involvement in the action. Root derivation combines a prepositional prefix denoting separation (ἀπό) with a verb of removal (ἐκδύω).
Historical & Contextual Notes
Earliest attestations are in Hellenistic Greek and Koine sources, not known in classical texts. The middle voice accentuates the subject's own agency or benefit in removing or divesting. In the New Testament (notably Colossians 2:15; 3:9), ἀπεκδύομαι is used both literally (removing clothing) and metaphorically (abandoning old identities, behaviors, or spiritual conditions). In Stoic and other Greco-Roman ethical literature, stripping off or laying aside clothing is a common image for renouncing old habits or distinctions. English translations ("put off," "divest," "strip off") often capture the sense, but sometimes lose the nuance of the middle voice—the subject's participation and resulting transformation. The metaphor’s force relies on contemporary Greco-Roman imagery of removing a garment as a transition from one condition or station to another.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
middle voice from ἀπό and ἐκδύω; to divest wholly oneself, or (for oneself) despoil:--put off, spoil.
Root Family
ἀπεκδύομαι (apekdyomai) — to strip off, to divest oneself, to remove, to renounce
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G554-01 |
ἀπεκδυσάμενοι | apekdusamenoi | V AOR MID PTCP NOM M PL |
having put off | having stripped themselves off | having stripped yourselves off | 1 |
G554-02 |
ἀπεκδυσάμενος | apekdusamenos | V AOR MID PTCP NOM M SG |
having disarmed | having stripped himself off | having stripped off from himself | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G554-02 |
Colossians 2:15 | ἀπεκδυσάμενος | apekdusamenos | V AOR MID PTCP NOM M SG |
having disarmed | having stripped himself off | having stripped off from himself |
G554-01 |
Colossians 3:9 | ἀπεκδυσάμενοι | apekdusamenoi | V AOR MID PTCP NOM M PL |
having put off | having stripped themselves off | having stripped yourselves off |