σπερμολόγος
spermológos · G4691 · Greek · 1 occurrence
Meanings
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ignorant show-off, charlatan
(A figurative extension of meaning of a term based on the practice of birds in picking up seeds) One who acquires bits and pieces of relatively extraneous information and proceeds to pass them on with pretense and show
ExamplesActs 17:18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
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foolish babbler
(A figurative expression, literally: one who picks up seed; originally a reference to birds picking up seed, but figuratively applied to a person who is an information scavenger) One who is not able to say anything worthwhile in view of his miscellaneous collection of tidbits of information
ExamplesActs 17:18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
How it’s used In 2 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- οὗτοςthis 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- θέλωto want, to wish, to desire 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 3 words
- φλύαρος phlýaros · G5397 · one who talks nonsense, gossipy
- φλύαρος emphasizes idle, gossiping talk and babbling, overlapping with σπερμολόγος's sense of a trifler in talk or one who picks up and repeats scraps of information
- ματαιολόγος mataiológos · G3151 · empty talker, foolish babbler
- ματαιολόγος refers to one who speaks empty, vain, or worthless words, closely aligned with σπερμολόγος's characterization of a trifler who babbles without substance
- ἀργός argós · G692 · idle, not working, lazy
- ἀργός captures one facet of σπερμολόγος—the 'loafer' or 'sponger' aspect—describing someone idle and unproductive, though σπερμολόγος emphasizes foolish talk and pretentious babbling while ἀργός focuses on inactivity itself
Contrasting words 1 word
- σοφός sophós · G4680 · skillful, expert, prudent
- σοφός represents genuine wisdom and learned discourse, the lexical opposite of σπερμολόγος as an ignorant show-off or foolish babbler
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Ignorant show-off, charlatan27.19
- The noun, originally describing a bird that picks up scattered seeds, is used figuratively of one who picks up scraps of learning without real understanding. Luke records that the philosophers in Athens asked, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” (Acts 17:18).
- Foolish babbler33.381
- The same noun also carries the specific nuance of aimless, foolish talk, since this is the lexeme's only tagged occurrence in the New Testament. Luke records the philosophers' dismissive question, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” (Acts 17:18).
Word family 9 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon σπερμολογον (σπέρμα, and λέγω to collect); 1. picking up seeds: used of birds, Plug.…
1. picking up seeds: used of birds, Plug. Demet. 28; Athen. 9, p. 387 f.; especially of the crow or daw that picks up grain in the fields (German Saatkrähe), Aristophanes av. 232, 579; Aristotle, h. a. 8, 8, p. 592{b}, 28, and other writings.
2. of men: "lounging about the market-place and picking up a subsistence by whatever may chance to fall from the loads of merchandise" (Eustathius on Homer, Odyssey 5, 490 σπερμολογοι. οἱ περί τά ἐμπορία καί ἀγορᾶς διατρίβοντες διά τό ἀναλέγεσθαι τά ἐκ τῶν φορτιων ἐπορρεοντα καί διά ζῆν ἐκ τούτων); hence, beggarly, abject, vile (a parasite); getting a living by flattery and buffoonery, Athen. 3, p. 85 f.; Plutarch, mor., p. 456 d.; a substantive, ὁ σπερμολόγος, an empty talker, babbler (Demosthenes, p. 269, 19; Athen. 8, p. 344 c.): Acts 17:18.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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