δεισιδαίμων, δεισιδαιμον, genitive δεισιδαιμονος (δείδω to fear, and δαίμων deity), fearing the deity or deities, like the Latinreligiosus; used either 1. in a good sense, reverencing god or the gods, pious, religious: Xenophon, Cyril 3, 3, 58; Ages. 11, 8; Aristotle, pol. 5, 11 (p. 1315a, 1); or 2. in a bad sense, superstitious: Theophrastus, char. 16 (22); Diodorus 1, 62; 4, 51; Plutarch, de adul. c. 16; de superstit. c. 10f Paul in the opening of his address to the Athenians, Act_17:22, calls them, with kindly ambiguity, κατά πάντα δεισιδαιμονεστέρους (namely, than the rest of the Greeks (Winer's Grammar, 244 (229)), cf. Meyer at the passage), as being devout without the knowledge of the true God; cf. Bengel at the passage.

δεισιδαίμων deisidaimōn 1x reverencing the gods and divine things, religious; in a bad sense, superstitious; in NT careful and precise in the discharge of religious services, Act_17:22

* δεισι -δαίμων , -ον ( < δείδω , to fear; δαίμων , deity ), reverent to the deity, religious; compar . -μονεστέρους ( AV , too superstitious , R , txt ., somewhat superstitious, a sense in WH . the word is sometimes used; cf. Field, Notes , 125), more religious, God fearing, than others, quite, religious ( Abbott, Essays , 105 ff .; Deiss., LAE , 285): Act_17:22 .† SYN.: εὐσεβής G2152 ( q.v. ), θεοσεβής G2318 , θρῆσκος G2357 ( Cremer , 681; DB , ext., 142 a).

δεισιδαίμων (~ δεισιδαιμονέστερος ) [page 139] Beyond the neutral sense attached to the subst. in the passage cited s.v. δεισιδαιμονία , we have no light to throw upon the exact force of the phrase κατὰ πάντα δεισιδαιμονεστέρους in Act_17:22 . A convenient summary of the translations given to it with their varying shades of condemnation and commendation will be found in ExpT xviii. p. 485 ff. See also A. W. Verrall s comments, ib. xix. p. 43 : he renders exceedingly god-fearing, but accepts the view that it is meant to be a neutral term. L. R. Farnell Greece and Babylon , p. 193n, remarks on the prevailing bad sense of the word (as in the Characters of Theophrastus) in connexion with the exclusion of fear and humility from religious virtues. We find the adj. meaning reverent in the epitaph of a mimus , Kaibel 607 .3 (iii/A.D.) πᾶσι φίλος θνητοῖς εἴς τ᾽αθανάτους δεισιδαίμων . The adverb occurs bis in Aristeas 129 with reference to unclean foods δεισιδαιμόνως γὰρ τὰ πλεῖστα τὴν νομοθεσίαν ἔχειν , ἐν δὲ τούτοις παντελῶς δεισιδαιμόνως , for the law is scrupulous in most things, but in these matters it is excessively scrupulous (Thackeray). There is a good list of occurrences in D. B. Durham Menander , p. 53.

δεισι-δαίμων, -ον (δείδω, to fear; δαίμων, deity) reverent to the deity, religious; compar. -μονεστέρους (AV, too superstitious, R, txt., somewhat superstitious, a sense in wh. the word is sometimes used; cf. Field, Notes, 125), more religious, God fearing, than others, quite religious (Abbott, Essays, 105 ff.; Deiss., LAE, 285): Act.17:22.† SYN.: εὐσεβής (which see), θεοσεβής, θρῆσκος (Cremer, 681; DB, ext., 142 a). (AS)