ἀσωτία
asōtía
G810 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Lack of self-restraint or self-control, especially as expressed through reckless, dissolute, or wasteful behavior. In literary and moral contexts, ἀσωτία refers to behavior characterized by indulgence in sensual pleasures, intemperance, and squandering of resources. The word often connotes a state of moral or social ruin resulting from excessive living or licentiousness. Other senses, derived from this primary meaning, can include socially disruptive or disorderly conduct, particularly where wastefulness or debauchery is present.
Semantic Range
reckless living, dissolute conduct, wastefulness, moral debauchery, lack of self-control, prodigality, riotous living, intemperance
Root / Etymology
Formed from the privative prefix ἀ- ('not,' 'without') and related to the stem σωτ-, associated with the verb σῴζω ('to save, preserve'). Thus, 'without saving' or 'incapable of saving/restraint'; the noun formation indicates a state or condition. The etymology is consistent with classical Greek formation, attested in Aristotle and later writers. No Aramaic or Hebrew etymological influence. The compound indicates absence of σωτηρία (salvation, safety, preservation) at the moral or social level.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, ἀσωτία describes a character trait opposite to σωφροσύνη (self-control, temperance), often listed as a vice. Aristotle categorizes ἀσωτία as moral failing due to lack of restraint, especially concerning pleasures (Ethics 1107a1–2). In Hellenistic and Roman-era sources, including the LXX (Septuagint) and Philo, it describes someone whose lifestyle is reckless, prodigal, or dissolutely wasteful. In the New Testament (e.g., Eph 5:18, Titus 1:6, 1 Pet 4:4, Luke 15:13), ἀσωτία is used to characterize prodigality and licentiousness. Standard English renderings such as 'riot,' 'excess,' or 'dissipation' do not fully capture the full scope, which includes the idea of irreclaimable wastefulness and a collapse of self-mastery. Unlike some translation traditions, the term is not strictly 'unsavedness' in a theological or soteriological sense but describes a quality of destructive, undisciplined living that threatens both individual and social order.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from a compound of Α (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of σώζω; properly, unsavedness, i.e. (by implication) profligacy:--excess, riot.
Root Family
σωτ- (sōtḗr) — to save, to deliver, to preserve
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| G4990 | σωτήρ | Deliverer |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G810-02 |
ἀσωτίας | asotias | N GEN F SG |
debauchery | of unrestrained dissipation | dissipation | 2 |
G810-01 |
ἀσωτία | asotia | N NOM F SG |
debauchery | self-unrestrained dissipation | self-unrestrained dissipation | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G810-01 |
Ephesians 5:18 | ἀσωτία | asotia | N NOM F SG |
debauchery | self-unrestrained dissipation | self-unrestrained dissipation |
G810-02 |
Titus 1:6 | ἀσωτίας | asotias | N GEN F SG |
dissipation | of unrestrained dissipation | of dissipation |
G810-02 |
1 Peter 4:4 | ἀσωτίας | asotias | N GEN F SG |
debauchery | of unrestrained dissipation | dissipation |