πλεῖστος, πλείστῃ, πλεῖστον (superlative of πολύς), most: plural Mat_11:20; (ὄχλος πλεῖστος, a very great multitude, Mar_4:1 T Tr WH); ὁ πλεῖστος ὄχλος, the most part of the multitude, Mat_21:8 (Thucydides 7, 78; Plato, rep. 3, p. 397{d} ; λαός, Homer, Iliad 16, 377); τό πλεῖστον, adverbially, at the most, 1Co_14:27.

G4118, G4119, G4183 πολύς polys 416x great in magnitude or quantity, much, large, Mat_13:5 ; Joh_3:23 ; Joh_15:8 ; pl. many, Mat_3:7 ; in time, long, Mat_25:19 ; Mar_6:35 ; Joh_5:6 ; οἱ πολλοί , the many, the mass, Rom_5:15 ; Rom_12:5 ; 1Co_10:33 ; τὸ πολύ , much, 2Co_8:15 ; πολύ , as an adv., much, greatly, Mar_12:27 ; Luk_7:47 ; of time, ἐπὶ πολύ , a long time, Act_28:6 ; μετ οὐ πολὺ , not long after, Act_27:14 ; followed by a compar., much, 2Co_8:22 ; πολλῷ , much, by much, Mat_6:30 ; Mar_10:48 ; τὰ πολλά , as an adv., most frequently, generally, Rom_15:22 ; πολλά , as an adv., much, greatly, vehemently, Mar_1:45 ; Mar_3:12 ; of time, many times, frequently, often, Mat_9:14 great; l arge; many.

πλεῖστος , πλείων , see πολύς G4183 .

πλεῖστος [page 517] very large, plur. very many, is generally elative in the papyri, e.g. P Petr III. 53 ( o ) .5 (iii/B.C.) θ ]εῶι πλεί [στ ]η χάρις , P Tebt I. 45 .17 (B.C. 113) σὺν ἄλλοις πλείστοις , with very many others, and P Oxy VI. 939 .3 (iv/A.D.) (= Selections , p. 128) ὡς ἐν ἄλ ]λ̣οις πλείστοις , νῦν ἔτι μᾶλλον , as on very many other occasions, so now still more. But for the genuine superlative sense we may cite such exx. as P Tebt I, 105 .46 (B.C. 103) τὴν ἐσομένην πλείστην τιμὴν ἐν τῆι αὐτῆι κώμηι , the highest price at which it may be sold at the said village (Edd.), and P Fay 90 .17 (A.D. 234) τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ καιροῦ ἐσο (μένην ) πλ [ί ]στην τει (μήν ), the highest current price at the time being (Edd.). The word is common in greetings, e.g. P Oxy III. 533 .1 (ii/iii A.D.) Ἀπίων Ἀπίωνι τῶι υἱῷ καὶ Ὡρίωνι τῶι φιλτάτῳ πλεῖστα χαίρειν , and intensified BGU III. 845 .1 (ii/A.D.) . . ]ρεῖνος τῇ μητρὶ πλεῖστα πολλὰ χαίρι (= ει )ν . For τὰ πλεῖστα see P Tebt I. 22 .5 (B.C. 112) διὰ σὲ τὰ πλεῖστα συνκάταινος ἐγενόμην , for your sake I came to an agreement on most points (Edd.), P Fay 35 .12 (A.D. 150 1) Μύσ̣της ἔγραψα τὰ πλεῖστα , written for the most part by me, Mystes : cf. also Preisigke 8 .7 (ii/A.D.) ἐδήλ (ωσεν ) τοὺς . . . ἄνδρας ἐκ το [ῦ ] πλείστου (cf. 1Co_14:27 ) ἐγλελοιπέναι . Πλειστάκι , repeatedly, occurs in P Ryl II. 130 .12 (A.D. 31).

πλεῖστος πλεῖστος, η, ον [Etym: Sup. of πολύς] "most, largest", also "very much, very large", both of number and size, Hom. , etc.; πλεῖστός εἰμι τῇ γνώμῃ I incline "most" to the opinion, Hdt. with the Art., οἱ πλεῖστοι, much like οἱ πολλοί, "the greatest number", Thuc. , etc.; τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ βίου "the greatest part" of life, Plat. ; also ἡ πλ. τῆς στρατιᾶς Thuc. Special usages: ὅσας ἂν πλείστας δύναιντο καταστρέφεσθαι "the greatest" number that they could "possibly" subdue, Hdt. ; ὅτι πλ. Thuc. , etc.:— εἷς ἀνὴρ πλεῖστον πόνον παρασχών the greatest of all men, Aesch. Adverb. usages:— πλεῖστον, ῀ μάλιστα, "most", Il. , attic; ὡς πλεῖστον, Lat. quam maxime, Xen. ; sometimes added to a Sup., πλεῖστον ἐχθίστη, πλ. κάκιστος Soph. ; so, πλεῖστα id=Soph. :— "furthest", Plat. with the Art., τὸ πλ. "for the most part", Ar. with Preps.: διὰ πλείστου "furthest off", in point of space or time, Thuc. εἰς πλεῖστον "most", Soph. ἐπὶ πλεῖστον "over the greatest distance, to the greatest extent", in point of space or time, Hdt. , Thuc. ; ὡς ἐπὶ πλ. or ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλ. "for the most part." Plat. ; περὶ πλείστου ποιεῖσθαι, v. περί A. IV. ἐν τοῖς πλεῖστοι or πλεῖσται "about the most", Thuc.

πλεῖστος, πλείων, see: πολύς. πολύς, πολλή, πολύ, [in LXX chiefly for רַב and cognate forms ;] __1. as adj., much, many, great, of number, space, degree, value, time, etc.: ἀριθμός, Act.11:21; ὄχλος, Mrk.5:24; θερισμός, Mat.9:37; χόρτος, Jhn.6:10; χρόνος, Mat.25:19; γογγυσμός, Jhn.7:12; πόνος, Col.4:13; δόξα, Mat.24:30; σιγή, Act.21:40; pl., προφῆται, Mat.13:17; ὄχλοι, Mat.4:25; δαιμόνια, Mrk.1:34; δυνάμεις, Mat.7:22, __2. As subst., pl. masc, πολλοί, many (persons): Mat.7:22, Mrk.2:2, al.; with genitive partit., Mat.3:7, Luk.1:16, al.; before ἐκ, Jhn.7:31, Act.17:12; with art., οἱ π., the many, Mat.24:12, Rom.12:5, 1Co.10:17, 33 2Co.2:17; opposite to ὁ εἶς (Lft., Notes, 291), Rom.5:15, 19; neut. pl., πολλά: Mat.13:3, Mrk.5:26, al.; accusative with adverbial force, Mrk.1:45, Rom.16:6 (Deiss., LAE, 317), 1Co.16:12, Jas.3:2, al.; neut. sing., πολύ: Luk.12:48; adverbially, Mrk.12:27, al.; πολλοῦ (genitive pret.), Mat.26:9; with compar. (Bl., §44, 5), π. σπουδαιότερον, 2Co.8:22; πολλῷ πλείους, Jhn.4:41. Compar., πλείων , neut., πλεῖον and πλέον (see WH, App., 151), pl., πλείονες, -ας, -α, contr., πλείους, -ω (cf. Mayser, 69), more, greater; __1. as adj.: Jhn.15:2, Act.18:2o, Heb.3:3; before παρά, Heb.11:4 (cf. Westc, in l. Was ΠΛΙΟΝΑ here a primitive error for ΗΔΙΟΝΑ ?); pi., Act.13:31, al.; with genitive compar., Mat.21:36; with num. (ἤ of comp. omitted), Act.4:22 24:11, al. __2. As subst., οἱ π., the greater number: Act.10:32 27:12, 1Co.10:5 15:6; also (Bl., §44, 3) others, more, the more: 2Co.2:6 4:15, Php.1:14; πλείονα, Luk.11:53; πλειον, πλέον, Mat.20:10, 2Ti.3:9; with genitive comp., Mk 12:43, Luk.21:3; π. Ἰωνᾶ ὧδε, Mat.12:41; adverbially, Act.4:17 20:9 24:4. __3. As adv., πλεῖον: before ἤ, Luk.9:13; with genitive comp., Mat.5:20; πλείω: with num., Mat.26:53. Superl., πλεῖστος, -η, -ον , __(a) prop., most: Mat.11:20 21:8; adverbially, τὸ π., 1Co.14:27; __(b) elative (M, Pr., 79), very great: ὄχλος π., Mrk.4:1. (AS)