G4118 πλεῖστος (pleîstos)

πολύς, πολλή (fr. an older form πολλός, found in Hom., Hes., Pind.), πολύ; [(cf. Curtius § 375)]; Sept. chiefly for 39; much; used a. of multitude, number, etc., many, numerous, great: ἀριθμός, Acts xi. 21; λαός, Acts xviii. 10; ὄχλος, Mk. v. 24; vi. 34; [viii.1 LT Tr WH]; Lk. vii. 11; viii. 4; Jn. vi. 2,5; Rev. vii. 9; xix. 6, etc.; πλῆθος, Mk. iii. 7sq.; Lk. v. 6; Acts xiv. 1, ete.; 1. q. abundant, plenteous [A. V. often much], καρπός, Jn. xii. 24; xv. 5,8; θερισμός, (the harvest to be gathered), Mt. ix. 37; Lk. x. 2; γῆ, Mt. xiii. 5; Mk. iv. 5; χόρτος, Jn. vi. 10; οἶνος, 1 Tim. iii. 8; plur. πολλοὶ τελῶναι, Mt. ix. 10; Mk. ii. 15; πολλοὶ προφῆται, Mt. xiii. 17; Lk. x. 24; σοφοί, 1 Co. i. 26; πατέρες, 1 Co. iv. 15; δυνάμεις, Mt. vii. 22; xiii. 58, ete.; ὄχλοι, Mt. iv. 25; viii. 1; xii. 15 [but here L TWH om. Trbr. ὄχ.7; Lk. v. 15, ete.; δαιμόνια, Mk.i. 34; and in many otherexx.; with participles used substantively, Mt. viii. 16; 1 Co. xvi. 9, ete.; with the article prefixed: ai ἁμαρτίαι αὐτῆς αἱ πολλαί, her sins which are many, LK. vii. 47; τὰ πολλὰ γράμματα, the great learning with which I see that you are furnished, Acts xxvi. 24; ὁ πολὺς ὄχλος, the great multitude of common people present, Mk. xii. 37 [ef. ὁ ὄχλ. πολύς, Jn. xii. 9 T Tr mrg. WH; see ὄχλος, 11. Plur. mase. πολλοί, absol. and without the art., many, a large part of mankind: πολλοί simply, Mt. vii. 13, 22; xx. 28; xxvi. 28; Mk. ii. 2; iii. 10; x. 45; xiv. 24; Lk.i.1,14; Heb. ix. 28, and very 9 πολύς often; opp. to ὀλίγοι, Mt. χχ. 16 [T WH om. Tr br. the cl.]; ἕτεροι πολλοί, Acts xv. 35; ἄλλαι πολλαί, Mk. xv. 41; ἕτεραι πολλαί, Lk. viii. 3; πολλοί foll. by a partit. gen., as τῶν Φαρισαίων, Mt. iii. 7; add, LK. i. 16; Jn. xii. 11; Acts iv. 4; xiii. 43; 2 Co. xii. 21; Rev. viii. 11, ete.; foll. by ἐκ with a gen. of class, as πολλοὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, Jn. vi. 60; add, vii. 31,40; x. 20; χὶ. 19, 45; Acts xvii. 12; πολλοὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, Jn. iv. 39. with the article prefixed, οἱ πολλοί, the many [ef. W. 110 (105)]: those contrasted with 6 εἷς (i. 6. both with Adam and with Christ), ace. to the context equiv. to the rest of mankind, Ro. v. 15,19, ef. 12, 18; we the (i.e. who are) many, Ro. xii. 5; 1 Co. x.17; the many whom ye know, 2 Co. ii. 17; the many i. 6. the most part, the majority, Mt. xxiv. 12; 1Co. x. 33. b. with nouns denoting an action, an emotion, a state, which can be said to have as it were measure, weight, force, intensity, size, continuance, or repetition, much i. q. great, strong, intense, large: ἀγάπη, Eph. ii.4; ὀδύνη, 1 Tim. vi. 10; θρῆνος, κλαυθμός, dduppos, Mt. ii. 18; χαράΐ Ree." χάρις], Philem. 7; ἐπιθυμία, 1 Th. ii. 17 ; μακροθυμία, Ro. ix. 22; ἔλεος, 1 Pet. i. 3; γογγυσμός, Jn. vii. 12; τρόμος, 1 Co. ii. 3; πόνος [Rec. ζῆλος], Col. iv. 13; ἀγών, 1 Th. ii. 2; ἄθλησις, Heb. x. 32; θλίψις, 2 Co. ii. 4:1 ΤῊ. 1. 6; καύχησις, 2 Co. vii. 4; πεποίθησις, 2 Co. vill. 22; mAnpopopia, 1 Th. i. 5; παρρησία, 2 Co. iii. 12; vil. 4; 1 Tim. iii. 13; Philem. 8; παράκλησις, 2 Co. viii. 4; συζήτησις [T WH Tr txt. ζήτησις], Acts xv. 7; xxviii. 29 [Ree.]; στάσις, Acts xxiii. 10; dotria, Acts xxvii. 21; Bia, Acts xxiv. 7 [Rec.]; διακονία, Lk. x. 40; σιγή, deep silence, Acts xxi. 40 (Xen. Cyr. 7, 1, 25); φαντασία, Acts xxv. 23; δύναμις καὶ δόξα, Mt. xxiv. 30; Lk. xxi. 275 μισθός, Mt. v.12; Lk. vi. 23, 35; εἰρήνη, Acts xxiv. 2 (3); περὶ οὗ πολὺς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος, about which [but see λόγος, 1. 3 a.] we have much (in readiness) to say, Heb. ν. 11 (πολὺν λόγον ποιεῖσθαι περί τινος, Plat. Phaedo p.115d.; cf. Ast, Lex. Plat. iii. p. 148). c. of time, much, long: πολὺν χρόνον, Jn. ν. 6; μετὰ χρόνον πολύν, Mt. xxv. 19; ὥρα πολλή, much time (i. 6. ἃ large part of the day) is spent [see ὥρα, 2], Mk. vi. 35; ὥρας πολλῆς γενομένης [Tdf. γινομ.Ἴ, of a late hour of the day, ibid. (so πολλῆς ὥρας, Polyb. 5, 8,33; ἐπὶ πολλὴν ὥραν, Joseph. antt. 8,4, 45 ἐμάxovro... ἄχρι πολλῆς ὥρας, Dion. Hal. 2, 54); πολλοῖς χρόνοις, for a long time, Lk. viii. 29 (οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ, Hdian. 1, 6, 24 [8 ed. Bekk.]; χρόνοις πολλοῖς ὕστερον, Plut. Thes. 6; [see χρόνος, sub fin.]) ; εἰς ἔτη πολλά, Lk. xii. 19; (ἐκ or) ἀπὸ πολλῶν ἐτῶν, Acts xxiv. 10; Ro. xv. 23 [here WH Tr txt. ἀπὸ ἱκανῶν ér.]; ἐπὶ πολύ, (for) a long time, Acts xxviii. 6; μετ᾽ ov πολύ, not long after [see μετά, 11. 2 b.], Acts xxvii. 14. ἃ. Neut. sing. πολύ, much, substantively, i. 4. many things: Lk. xii. 48; much, adverbially, of the mode and degree of an action: ἠγάπησε, Lk. vii. 47; πλανᾶσθε, Mk. xii. 27; sc. ὠφελεῖ, Ro. iii. 2. πολλοῦ as a gen. of price (fr. Hom. down ; cf. Passow s. v. IV. Ὁ. vol. ii. p. 1013"; [cf. W. 206 (194)]): πραθῆναι, for much, Mt. xxvi. 9. ἐν πολλῷ, in (administering) much (i. e. many things), Lk. xvi. 10; with great labor, great effort, Acts xxvi. 29 (where LT TrWH ἐν μεγάλῳ [see μέγας, 1 8. γ.}. with a compar. (cf. W. 8 35, 1]: πολὺ σπουδαιότερον, 2 Co. viii. 22 (in Grk. writ. fr. Hom. down); πολλῷ πλείους, many more, Jn. iv. 41; πολλῷ [or πολὺ] μᾶλλον, see μᾶλλον, 1 ἃ. 58. with the article, τὸ πολύ, Germ. das Viele (opp. to τὸ ὀλίγον), 2 Co. viii. 15 [cf. B. 395 (338); W. 589 (548)]. Plural πολλά a. many things; as, διδάσκειν, λαλεῖν, Mt. xiii. 3; Mk. iv. 2; vi. 34; Jn. viii. 26; xiv. 30; παθεῖν, Mt. xvi. 21; Mk. v. 26; ix.12; Lk. ix. 22, etc., and often in Grk. writ. fr. Pind. Ol. 13, 90 down; ποιεῖν, Mk. vi. 20 [T Tr mrg. WH ἀπορεῖν] ; πρᾶξαι, Acts xxvi. 9; add as other exx., Mt. xxv. 21, 23; Mk. xii. 41; xv. 3; Jn. xvi. 12; 2Co. viii. 22; 2Jn. 12; 3Jn.13; πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα, Jn. xx. 30. [On the Grk. (and Lat.) usage which treats the notion of multitude not as something external to a thing and consisting merely in a comparison of it with other things, but as an attribute inhering in the thing itself, and hence capable of being co-ordinated with another attributive word by means of καί (q. v. I. 3), see Kiihner § 523, 1 (or on Xen. mem. 1, 2, 24) ; Baumlein, Partikeln, p- 146; Kriiger §69, 32,3; Lob. Paral. p.60; Herm. ad Vig. p. 835; W.§59, 3 fin.; B. 362 sq. (311). Cf. Passow s.v.I.3a.; L. and S.s. v. II. 2.] B. adverbially [ef. W. 463 (432); B.§ 128, 2], much: MK. [vi. 20 T Tr mrg. (?) WH (see dmopéw) |; ix. 26; Ro. xvi. 6, 12 [L br. the cl.J; in many ways, Jas. iii. 2; with many words, [R. V. much], with verbs of saying; as, κηρύσσειν, παρακαλεῖν, etc., Mk. i. 45; 111. 12; v. 10, 23, 43; 1 Co. xvi. 12; many times, often, repeatedly: Mt. ix. 14 [RG Tr WH mrg.] (and often in Grk. writ. fr. Hom. down ; cf. Passow 8. v. V. 1 a. vol. ii. p. 1013”; [L. and S. III. a.]; Stallbaum on Plat. Phaedo p. 61 ¢c.); with the art. τὰ πολλά, for the most part, [R. V. these many times] (Vulg. plurimum), Ro. xy. 22[L Tr mrg. πολλάκις] (exx. fr. Grk. writ. are given by Passow l. c., [L. and S. 1. 6.7, and by Fritzsche, Ep. ad Rom. iii. p. 281).

πολύς polys 416x

great in magnitude or quantity, much, large, Mt. 13:5; Jn. 3:23; 15:8; pl. many, Mt. 3:7; in time, long, Mt. 25:19; Mk. 6:35; Jn. 5:6; οἱ πολλοί, the many, the mass, Rom. 5:15; 12:5; 1 Cor. 10:33; τὸ πολύ, much, 2 Cor. 8:15; πολύ, as an adv., much, greatly, Mk. 12:27; Lk. 7:47; of time, ἐπὶ πολύ, a long time, Acts 28:6; μετ’ οὐ πολὺ, not long after, Acts 27:14; followed by a compar., much, 2 Cor. 8:22; πολλῷ, much, by much, Mt. 6:30; Mk. 10:48; τὰ πολλά, as an adv., most frequently, generally, Rom. 15:22; πολλά, as an adv., much, greatly, vehemently, Mk. 1:45; 3:12; of time, many times, frequently, often, Mt. 9:14

πλεῖστος, πλείων, v.s. πολύς.

πολύς, “much,” plur. ‘‘many’’: P Petr I. 2905 (iii/B.c.) χάρις τοῖς θεοῖς πολλὴ εἰ ὑγιαίνεις, ‘‘much thanks to the gods if you are well,” P Ryl II. 2435 (ii/A.D.) τοῦτο οὐ μόνον ἡμεῖν yevapevov ἀλλὰ Kal πολλοῖς, ‘this has happened not to us only but to many ” (Edd.), and 16. 238* (A.p. 262) διὰ πολλὰς χρείας, “for various needs’ (Edd.). The word is very conimon in epistolary greetings (πολλὰ χαίρειν : exx. from B.C. 118 to ili/iv A.D. in Exler Eprstolography p. 27 f.) and in rhetorical prefaces (Sirach proem.), and consequently, as Cadbury suggests (in Jackson and Lake Beginnings of Christianity Part I. Vol. ii. p. 492 f.), πολλοί must not be pressed to mean “ἡ Ac 243, 10, For the adverbial πολλά, which ‘‘ lies between πολύ and πολλάκις : it is ‘much’ with the idea of plurality and repetition introduced’’ (Hort ad Jas 32), cf. P Heid 622 (iv/a.p.) (= Selections, p. 127) πολλὰ προσαγωρεύ(ω) πάντεί -- a)s τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἡμῶν ἐν K(vpljw, and the curious P Lond 1916”? (c. A.D. 330-340) ἐπιδὴ τὰ πολλὰ πλεῖστα ἀργύρια χρεωστῖ, “ since he owes much, very much money” (Bell). Deissmann (LAZ, p. 317) supplies an interesting parallel to Rom 16° from a Roman woman's praise of her husband in a sepulchral inscr. C/G IV. 9552° tels(= ὅστις) por πολλὰ ἐκοπίασεν, ‘‘ who laboured much for me.’”’ And in P Leid C recto ™ (p.c. 161) (= UPZi. p. 353) ταῦτα πάντα τὰ πολλὰ ἐννήα εἰσί, Wilcken understands τὰ πολλά adverbially—‘‘ dies alles ist meistens neu.” Πολλοῦ, as gen. of price (Mt 26%) meets us in P Ἀν] II. 244) (ili/A.D.) τὰ δὲ σωμάτια πολλοῦ ἐστιν ἐνθά[δ]ε, ““slaves are very dear here.” A good ex. of πολλῷ μᾶλλον (Lk 1839) is afforded by P Par 264? (B.c. 162) (= UPZi. p- 248, Se/ectzons p. 18) where the Serapeum Twins petition ἵνα, πᾶν τὸ ἑξῆς ἔχουσαι, πολλῶι μᾶλλον τὰ νομιζόμενα τῶι Σαράπει καὶ τῆι Ἴσει ἐπιτελῶμεν, ‘that, when we have everything in order, we may be much better able to perform the usual ritual to Serapis and to Isis.”’ “Ὥρας πολλῆς γενομένης in Mk 655 can be paralleled from Dion. Hal. ii. 54 ἐμάχοντο ἄχρι πολλῆς ὥρας, ‘to a late hour” (see Swete ad Mk /.c.). And the pendent nom. of time in Mk 82 meets us in P Oxy XIV. 1764? (iii/A.D.) ἐπεὶ πολ[λ]αὶ ἡμέραι προσκαρτεροῦμεν Φιλέᾳ, where there is no need to correct with the editors into πολ[λ]ὰς ἡμέρας. The instrumental dat. πολλοῖς χρόνοις to denote duration of time is common, e.g. P Oxy I. 1128 (iii/iv A.D.) ἐρρῶσθ[αί very many” in such passages as Lk 1}, , πομα σε] εὔχομαι [πο]λλοῖς [χρόνοις, “1 pray for your continued health” (Edd.). In the account of a legal process at Alexandria in the 2nd half of iv/A.p., published in 4vehzv i. p. 298 f., we find ii 9 ὃς... ob per’ οὐ πολὺ ἥξει, ‘qui pourra se présenter dans peu de temps” (Ed.): cf. BGU II. 614!* (a.p. 216) μετ᾽ οὐ πολύ, ‘not longafter.” For ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου see P Strass I. 4215 (a.p. 310), and for ἐπὶ πολύ, see PSI IV. 2994 (iti/A.D.), where Ghedini (Zeé¢fere p. 87) translates ‘‘a tal punto.” The LXX πολλοστός in the sense of “great,” ‘ powerful’’ (2 Kingd 237°, Prov 51%), is discussed by Thackeray Gr. i. p. 185. See also s.vu. πλείων, πλεῖστος.

πλεῖστος (pleistos) — most. πλεῖστος, η, ον, superlative of πολύς, most, greatest, largest, in number, size, extent, etc., π. ὅμιλος, λαός, [Refs 8th c.BC+]most in vogue, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τῇ γνώμῃ πλεῖστός εἰμι, ἡ π. γνώμη, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πλεῖστον σχήσειν, as superlative of πλέον ἔχειν (see. πλείων), [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. with Article, οἱ π. the greatest number, [Refs]; τὸ π. τοῦ βίου the greatest part of.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. Special usages: with relative, ὅσας ἂν πλείστας δύνωνται καταστρέφεσθαι subdue the greatest number that they possibly could, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὅς κα πλεῖστον διδῷ ἀποδόμενοι [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. adverb usages: πλεῖστον most, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: sometimes added to a superlative, π. ἐχθίστη [Refs 5th c.BC+] as adverb, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. χαίρειν, frequently in letters, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

III. b furthest, π. ἀφεστηκέναι [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III.2. with Article, τὸ π. at most, ἡμερῶν τεσσάρων τὸ π. [Refs 5th c.BC+]for the most part, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; opposed to ἐνίοτε, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV. with Preps.:

IV.1. διὰ πλείστου furthest off, in point of space or time, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV.2. ἐς πλεῖστον most, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV.3. ἐπὶ πλεῖστον over the greatest distance, to the greatest extent, in point of space, time, or extent, ἐπὶ π. χλιδῆς ἀπίκετο [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὡς ἐπὶ π. or ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ π., for the most part, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV.4. κατὰ τὸ π. for the most part, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]

IV.5. περὶ πλείστου ποιεῖσθαι, see at {περί} [Refs 4th c.BC+]

IV.6. ἐν τοῖς πλεῖσται, see ὁ, ἡ, τό, [Refs 4th c.BC+]