περισσεύωperisseúō
to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (transitively) to cause to superabound or excel
Greek (New Testament) · G4052
Meanings
I. Prop., intransitive
1. of things, to be over and above the number (Hes.), hence
(a) to be or remain over: Matthew 14:20, Matthew 15:37, Luke 9:17, John 6:12, John 6:13
(b) to abound, be in abundance: Mark 12:44, Luke 12:15, Luke 21:4, Acts 16:5, Romans 3:7, Romans 5:15, 2 Corinthians 1:5, 2 Corinthians 8:2, 2 Corinthians 9:12, Philippians 1:26.
2. Of persons
(a) to abound in, have in abundance: 1 Corinthians 14:12, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Philippians 4:12, Philippians 4:18; with genitive, Luke 15:17 T
(b) to be superior or better, to excel: absolutely, 1 Corinthians 3:9, 1 Corinthians 8:8; with dative ref., 2 Corinthians 3:9; followed by ἐν, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Corinthians 3:9, 2 Corinthians 8:7, Colossians 2:7; μᾶλλον, 1 Thessalonians 4:1, 1 Thessalonians 4:10; μ καὶ μ., Philippians 1:9; πλεῖον, Matthew 5:20.
II. In late writers, transitive
(a) to make to abound: with accusative followed by εἰς, 2 Corinthians 4:15, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Ephesians 1:8; passive, Matthew 13:12, Matthew 25:29; with genitive of thing, Luke 15:17, WH
(b) to make to excel: with accusative of person, dative of thing, 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (cf. ὑπερ-περισσεύω).
Synonyms
πλεονάζω.
Same root
- περισσόςperissós · G4053superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality); by implication, excessive; adverbially (with G1537 (ἐκ)) violently; neuter (as noun) preeminence
- περίσσευμαperísseuma · G4051a surplus, or superabundance
- περισσείαperisseía · G4050surplusage, i.e. superabundance
- ὑπερπερισσεύωhyperperisseúō · G5248to super-abound
Where it appears
Appears 39 times in the Bible.
- Matthew 5:20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
- Matthew 13:12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
- Matthew 14:20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.
- Matthew 15:37 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.
- Matthew 25:29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
- Mark 12:44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
See every passage
Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.