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ἄῤῥωστος

árrhōstos

G732 substantive adjective

SILEX Entry

Root ῥωστ- to be strong, robust, gain strength

Definition

Primarily, lacking strength or being in a weakened physical state; used to describe someone who is infirm, ill, or sick. The core sense is bodily weakness due to illness or physical affliction. In some contexts, can also denote general frailty or incapacity arising from disease.

Semantic Range

physically sick, infirm, unwell, diseased, debilitated, unable to function due to illness, physically weakened

Root / Etymology

Formed from the alpha privative (ἀ-, 'not' or 'without') and ῥώστης or ῥώννυμι ('to strengthen, to make strong'); thus, 'not strong' or 'without strength.' The derivation is transparent in Greek, built on a common pattern of negation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

ἄῤῥωστος appears rarely in classical literature and is more common in Koine Greek, especially in medical and everyday usage. Its primary reference is to physical sickness or lack of health, not to moral or spiritual weakness. In the New Testament (e.g., Mark 6:5), it refers specifically to people suffering from bodily illness or diseases. The word overlaps in meaning with νοσῶν (nosōn, 'ill, diseased') but ἄῤῥωστος emphasizes incapacity or debilitation more than the pathological process itself. In most English translations, it is rendered simply as 'sick' or 'ill,' but these may not fully capture the nuance of physical debilitation or weakness. In comparison to the more general ἀσθενής ('weak, powerless'), ἄῤῥωστος is more closely linked to clinical or observable sickness and not generalized weakness or poverty. The term is not distinctively religious and does not carry metaphorical meanings in the New Testament or Septuagint usages. Occurrences outside biblical literature are often in medical or literary contexts to describe people unfit for physical activities due to illness.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from Α (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of ῥώννυμι; infirm:--sick (folk, -ly).

Root Family

ἄῤῥωστος (arrhōstos) — not strong, physically weak, infirm, sick, debilitated

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G732-03 ἀρρώστους arrostous ADJ.S ACC M PL sick the physically weakened 3
G732-02 ἀρρώστοις arrostois ADJ.S DAT M PL sick folk to the infirm ones 1
G732-01 ἄρρωστοι arrostoi ADJ.S NOM M PL sick the physically weak 1

Occurrences in Scripture

5 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G732-03 Matthew 14:14 ἀρρώστους arrostous ADJ.S ACC M PL the physically weakened
G732-02 Mark 6:5 ἀρρώστοις arrostois ADJ.S DAT M PL sick folk to the infirm ones
G732-03 Mark 6:13 ἀρρώστους arrostous ADJ.S ACC M PL sick the physically weakened
G732-03 Mark 16:18 ἀρρώστους arrostous ADJ.A ACC M PL sick the physically weakened
G732-01 1 Corinthians 11:30 ἄρρωστοι arrostoi ADJ.S NOM M PL sick the physically weak
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