Word study

Openly

4 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “openly”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.

At a glance

How often each original word is translated “openly” or one of its forms.

Compare the Greek words side by side

Greek words (New Testament)

  • πολύς polýsmuch, many, oftentranslated this way 1 time of its 338 uses · Strong’s G4183Adjective  ·  Translated: many 172, great 37, large 32, much 31

    Mark 1:45 But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.

    Full study and all 307 verses →
  • ὁμολογέω homologéōI confess, profess, acknowledge, praisetranslated this way 1 time of its 24 uses · Strong’s G3670Verb  ·  Translated: confess 11, confesses 5

    John 1:20 He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”

    Full study and all 21 verses →
  • παῤῥησία parrhēsíafreedom, confidencetranslated this way 1 time of its 30 uses · Strong’s G3954Noun  ·  Translated: confidence 10, publicly 4, plainly 4, boldness 3

    John 18:20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.

    Full study and all 30 verses →
  • ἱκανός hikanóssufficient, worthy, many, muchtranslated this way 1 time of its 38 uses · Strong’s G2425Adjective  ·  Translated: worthy 5, large 5, many 5, long 4

    Acts 20:37 They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him.

    Full study and all 38 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
  2. Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.

Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.