λέγωlégō

I. in its earliest use in Hom. to lay (like Lat. lego, Germ. legen; cf. J. G. Müller in Theol. Stud. u. Krit. for 1835, p. 127 sqq.; Curtius § 538); to cause to lie down, put to sleep; 1. to collect, gather; to pick out. 2. to lay with, count with; to enumerate, recount, narrate, describe; [cf. Eng. tale, Germ. zählen]. II. to put word to word in speaking, join words together, i. e. to say (how it differs fr. λαλεῖν, see under that word ad init.); once so by Hom. in Il. 2, 222 [yet cf. Schmidt, Syn. i. ch. 1, §§ 20; 48, 2; L. and S. s. v. B. II. 2]; often in Pind., and by far the most com. use in Attic; Sept. more than thirteen hundred times for אָמַר; often also for נְאֻם (saying, dictum); very rarely for דָּבַר; and so in N. T. 1. univ. a. absol. to speak: Acts xiii. 15; xxiv. 10; to say, foll. by direct disc., Mt. ix. 34; xii. 44; xvi. 2 [here T br. WH reject the pass.]; Mk. iii. 30; Lk. v. 39 [WH br. the cl.]; Jn. i. 29, 38; [1 Co. xii. 3 L T Tr WH]; Jas. iv. 13, and very often; the direct discourse is preceded by ὅτι recitative, Mt. ix. 18 [T om. ὅτι]; Mk. i. 15 [T om. WH br. λέγ.]; ii. 12 [L and WH br. λέγ.]; iii. 21 sq.; v. 28; vi. 14 sq. 35; vii. 20; Lk. i. 24; iv. 41; xvii. 10; Jn. vi. 14; vii. 12; viii. 33; ix. 9, 41; xvi. 17; Acts ii. 13; xi. 3; Heb. x. 8; Rev. iii. 17, etc.; foll. by acc. with inf., Lk. xi. 18; xxiv. 23; Jn. xii. 29; Acts iv. 32; xxviii. 6, etc.; foll. by ὅτι, Lk. xxii. 70; Jn. viii. 48; xviii. 37; 1 Tim. iv. 1, (for other exx. see 2 a. …