Ἀπφία
Apphía
G682 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Personal name. Apphia, a woman mentioned in the greetings of the epistle to Philemon (Phlm 2), likely a member of the early Christ-group in Colossae. The name is used as a proper noun and does not carry additional lexical meaning beyond denoting this individual.
Semantic Range
personal name, specifically denoting Apphia of Colossae
Root / Etymology
Loanword; probable Phrygian origin or possibly from another Anatolian language. The precise etymology is uncertain but it is not of Greek derivation.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Ἀπφία appears only once in the extant Greek biblical corpus, in Philemon 2, as one greeted by the letter's author. The name is rare in Greek literature and is often considered to be of local (Phrygian or broader Anatolian) origin, reflecting the diverse onomastic practices of Asia Minor in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The presence of this non-Greek name in a New Testament letter underscores the local, multicultural context of early Christ-groups in cities like Colossae. Traditional English translations simply transliterate the name as 'Apphia.' The name does not correspond to a common Greek word or root and does not carry inherent meaning in Greek; its significance is strictly as a proper noun identifying an individual.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
probably of foreign origin; Apphia, a woman of Collosæ:--Apphia.
Root Family
Ἀπφία (Apphia) — proper name, personal name
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G682-01 |
Ἀπφίᾳ | apphia | N DAT F SG |
Apphia | to Apphia | Apphia | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G682-01 |
Philemon 1:2 | Ἀπφίᾳ | apphia | N DAT F SG |
Apphia | to Apphia | Apphia |