ψύχω (G5594) — Greek Lexicon

ψύχω

psýchō

G5594 verb

SILEX Entry

Root ψυχ- to breathe gently, to blow softly, to cool

Definition

To blow or breathe (gently or softly), primarily referring to a soft, voluntary expiration of air; by extension, to cool or cause to become cool, especially by blowing. In figurative usage, in later and Koine Greek, to grow cold or to become less ardent (particularly of feelings, emotions, or moral disposition). The primary meaning is the act of softly exhaling or causing movement of air, from which physical and metaphorical senses develop.

Semantic Range

to blow softly, to breathe out gently, to cool by blowing, to chill, to grow cold (figuratively), to lose fervor (of emotions or love)

Root / Etymology

From the verb ψύχω, related to the stem ψυχ-, associated with coldness or coolness (cf. ψῦχος, 'coldness, cool air', and ψυχρός, 'cold, cool'). The PIE root is linked to *bhes–, 'to blow'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ψύχω is used for both literal and metaphorical acts of blowing or breathing out gently, often to cool something by means of air. It can be found in poetry to describe fanning, blowing to kindle a flame, or simply exhaling. By Hellenistic and Koine periods, the word is rare and acquires figurative connotations: in Matthew 24:12, it is used metaphorically for the cooling or diminution of moral fervor ('the love of many will grow cold'). The primary distinction from similar terms such as πνέω is the softness and voluntariness of the act (πνέω is more often used for natural, often forceful, wind or breathing). The sense of 'chilling' or 'cooling' becomes less common in everyday speech, surviving primarily in poetic, medical, or metaphorical registers. Standard English translations often obscure the original sense of gentle breathing or cooling, focusing instead on the figurative sense ('wax cold') in New Testament contexts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primary verb; to breathe (voluntarily but gently, thus differing on the one hand from πνέω, which denotes properly a forcible respiration; and on the other from the base of ἀήρ, which refers properly to an inanimate breeze), i.e. (by implication, of reduction of temperature by evaporation) to chill (figuratively):--wax cold.

Root Family

ψύχω (psychō) — to breathe gently, to blow softly, to cool

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	Occurrences
`G5594-01`	ψυγήσεται	psugesetai	`V FUT PASS IND 3P SG`		will be cooled	1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1
`G5594-01`	Matthew 24:12	ψυγήσεται	psugesetai	`V FUT PASS IND 3P SG`		will be cooled

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