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ἄχυρον

áchyron

G892 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ἄχυρ- straw, chaff, husk

Definition

Dry, inedible husks or waste products separated from grain during threshing; refers primarily to the useless, lightweight covering of cereal grains, especially wheat and barley. Extended sense: anything regarded as worthless or easily blown away, lacking substance or lasting value. Used as a figure for what is insubstantial or destined for destruction.

Semantic Range

straw, chaff, husk, refuse from threshing, metaphorically: worthless thing, what is blown away or destroyed

Root / Etymology

Rooted in ἄχυρον (achyron), classically meaning 'straw, chaff.' Possibly derived from the root ἄχυρα (straw), but direct etymology is uncertain; not clearly connected to a verb meaning 'to shed forth.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ἄχυρον referred broadly to straw or chaff—the plant material left after threshing grain, with no special connotation. In the Septuagint, it frequently translates Hebrew mots (מוֹץ, 'chaff') and is contrasted with grain to symbolize the worthless as distinct from the valuable. In the New Testament (e.g., Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17), it is used metaphorically for persons or things destined for destruction, emphasizing impermanence and worthlessness. English 'chaff' is a standard translation, but the metaphor extends to the idea of what is blown away by the wind or discarded. No religious or ethnic nuance is attached to the term; its meaning is strictly agricultural and metaphorical. The image of chaff being separated and burned is a common one in Second Temple literature and Greco-Roman agriculture, conveying judgment or removal of the useless.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

perhaps remotely from (to shed forth); chaff (as diffusive):--chaff.

Root Family

ἄχυρον (achyron) — straw, chaff, husk

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G892-01 ἄχυρον achuron N ACC N SG chaff chaff 2

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G892-01 Matthew 3:12 ἄχυρον achuron N ACC N SG chaff
G892-01 Luke 3:17 ἄχυρον achuron N ACC N SG chaff chaff
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