Word Summary
klaiō: to weep
Original Word: κλαίωTransliteration: klaiō
Phonetic Spelling: (klah'-yo)
Part of Speech: Verb
Short Definition: to weep
Meaning: to weep
Strong's Concordance
bewail, weep.
Of uncertain affinity; to sob, i.e. Wail aloud (whereas dakruo is rather to cry silently) -- bewail, weep.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2799: κλαίωκλαίω; imperfect
ἔκλαιον; future
κλαύσω (
Luke 6:25;
John 16:20; and
Tr WH text in
Revelation 18:9, for
κλαύσομαι. more common in Greek writ, especially the earlier, and found in
Leviticus 10:6;
Joel 2:17, and according to most editions in
Revelation 18:9; cf.
Krüger, § 40 under the word, i., p. 175f; Kühner, § 343, under the word, i., p. 847; (
Veitch, under the word);
Buttmann, 60 (53); (
Winer's Grammar, 87 (83))); 1 aorist
ἔκλαυσα; the
Sept. frequently for
בָּכָה; (from
Homer down);
to mourn, weep, lament;
a. intransitive: Mark 14:72; Mark 16:10; Luke 7:13, 38; John 11:31, 33; John 20:11, 13, 15; Acts 9:39; Acts 21:13; Rev. (); ; πολλά, for which L T Tr WH πολύ, Revelation 5:4; πικρῶς, Matthew 26:75; Luke 22:62; weeping as the sign of pain and grief for the thing signified (i. e. for pain and grief), Luke 6:21, 25 (opposed to γελαν); John 16:20; Romans 12:15 (opposed to χαίρειν); Philippians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 7:30; James 4:9; James 5:1; of those who mourn the dead: Mark 5:38; Luke 7:32; Luke 8:52; ἐπί τίνι, over anyone, Luke 19:41 R G (Sir. 22:11); also joined with πενθεῖν, Revelation 18:11 R G L; κλαίειν ἐπί τινα, Luke 19:41 L T Tr WH; ; joined with κόπτεσθαι followed by ἐπί τινα, Revelation 18:9 T Tr WH. b. transitive, τινα, to weep for, mourn for, bewail, one (cf. Buttmann, § 131, 4; Winer's Grammar, 32, 1 γ.): Matthew 2:18, and Rec. in Revelation 18:9. [SYNONYMS: δακρύω, κλαίω, ὀδύρομαι, θρηνέω, ἀλαλάζω (ὀλολύζω), στενάζω: strictly, δακρύω denotes to shed tears, weep silently; κλαίω to weep audibly, to cry as a child; ὀδύρομαι to give verbal expression to grief, to lament; θρηνέω to give formal expression to grief, to sing a dirge; ἀλαλάζω to wail in oriental style, to howl in a consecrated, semi-liturgical fashion; στενάζω to express grief by inarticulate or semi-articulate sounds, to groan. Cf. Schmidt chh. 26, 126.]