4118. pleistos

Lexicon

pleistos: Most, greatest, very many

Original Word: πλεῖστος
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: pleistos
Pronunciation: PLAY-stos
Phonetic Spelling: (plice'-tos)
Definition: Most, greatest, very many
Meaning: the greatest, the most, very great.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

most, very great, much.

Irregular superlative of polus; the largest number or very large -- very great, most.

see GREEK polus

HELPS Word-studies

4118 pleístos – the superlative ("-est") form of 4183 /polýs ("great in number") – literally, "greatest in quantity" (number). 4118 /pleístos ("very many," "very much") means very numerous (great in number).

Example: Mt 11:20: "very many (4118 /pleístos) powerful acts" – "Literally, 'His very many mighty works' – if elative, as it is usually in the papyri (Moulton, Prolegomena, 79; Robertson, Grammar, 670)" (WP, 1, 90).

[The Greek superlative is used here meaning "very many mighty works" (R, WP).]

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
superl. of polus, q.v.

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4118: πλεῖστος

πλεῖστος, πλείστῃ, πλεῖστον (superlative of πολύς), most: plural Matthew 11:20; (ὄχλος πλεῖστος, a very great multitude, Mark 4:1 T Tr WH); ὁ πλεῖστος ὄχλος, the most part of the multitude, Matthew 21:8 (Thucydides 7, 78; Plato, rep. 3, p. 397{d}; λαός, Homer, Iliad 16, 377); τό πλεῖστον, adverbially, at the most, 1 Corinthians 14:27.

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Superlative form of πολύς (polus), meaning "much" or "many."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: While there is no direct Hebrew equivalent for the Greek superlative πλεῖστος, similar concepts of greatness or abundance can be found in Hebrew words such as רַב (rab, Strong's Hebrew 7227), meaning "many" or "great," and גָּדוֹל (gadol, Strong's Hebrew 1419), meaning "great" or "large." These Hebrew terms are often used in the Old Testament to convey similar ideas of magnitude or preeminence.

Usage: The term πλεῖστος is used in the New Testament to denote the greatest degree or the largest amount of something. It is often translated as "most" or "very great" in English.

Context: The Greek word πλεῖστος appears in the New Testament as a superlative form of πολύς, emphasizing the utmost degree of quantity or quality. It is used to describe the largest number or the greatest extent of something. This term is found in contexts where the emphasis is on the superlative nature of an attribute or quantity.

In the Berean Standard Bible, πλεῖστος is used to convey the idea of abundance or preeminence. For example, in Mark 12:37, it is used to describe the reaction of the crowd to Jesus' teaching: "David himself calls Him 'Lord.' So how can He be David’s son?” And the large crowd listened to Him with delight." Here, πλεῖστος is translated as "large," indicating the great number of people present.

The use of πλεῖστος in the New Testament reflects the cultural and linguistic context of the time, where superlatives were employed to express the highest degree of a particular quality or quantity. This word underscores the importance of understanding the nuances of Greek superlatives to fully grasp the meaning of the biblical text.

Forms and Transliterations

πλεισται πλεῖσται πλειστον πλεῖστον πλειστος πλεῖστος pleistai pleîstai pleiston pleîston pleistos pleîstos

Englishman's Concordance

Matthew 11:20 Adj-NFP
GRK: ἐγένοντο αἱ πλεῖσται δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ
KJV: wherein most of his
INT: had taken place the most miracles of him

Matthew 21:8 Adj-NMS
GRK: ὁ δὲ πλεῖστος ὄχλος ἔστρωσαν
KJV: And a very great multitude spread
INT: moreover most of [the] crowd spread

Mark 4:1 Adj-NMS
GRK: αὐτὸν ὄχλος πλεῖστος ὥστε αὐτὸν
INT: him a crowd great so that him

1 Corinthians 14:27 Adj-ANS
GRK: ἢ τὸ πλεῖστον τρεῖς καὶ
KJV: two, or at the most [by] three, and
INT: or the most three and

Strong's Greek 4118
4 Occurrences

πλεῖσται — 1 Occ.
πλεῖστον — 1 Occ.
πλεῖστος — 2 Occ.