verb
koinamō
Strong’sG2840
I make unclean, regard as unclean
stem koin-14 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books6 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
To make ceremonially unclean, to defile or profane something — this is the main biblical sense, used of what enters or comes from a person making them unclean in a ritual sense 1234. In one biblical passage this same idea is applied to a person's conscience being defiled 1.
To consider or regard as unclean, treating something as profane rather than actually making it so 123.
Outside its biblical use, the word could also mean simply to make something common or shared, or to communicate information to someone, but the Bible does not use it in that way 3.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
κοινόω, -ῶ,
[in LXX: IV Mac 7:6 אR*;]
SYN.: βεβηλόω. Thayer (s.v. κ.) mentions that Winer notes the accuracy whereby the Jews are said to use κ. in addressing Jews, Ac 21:28, and β. when speaking to Felix, 24:6 (Cremer, 362).
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2840 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidkoy-no'-o
to make (or consider) profane (ceremonially)
Fromfrom G2839;
King Jamescall common, defile, pollute, unclean.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
future κοινώσω Refs 4th c.BC+: aorist ἐκοίνωσα Refs 5th c.BC+; Doric dialect ἐκοίνᾱσα Refs 5th c.BC+:—middle, future κοινώσομαι Refs codices (to be read -άσομαι (Doric dialect)), Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist ἐκοινωσάμην Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, aorist ἐκοινώθην Refs 5th c.BC+perfect κεκοίνωμαι (in middle sense) Refs 5th c.BC+:—communicate, impart information, κ. τινί τι Refs 5th c.BC+; νυκτὶ κοινάσαντες ὁδόν having imparted their journey to night alone (i.e. travelling by night without consulting any one), Refs 5th c.BC+
2 make common, share, κοινώσαντας τὴν δύναμιν κοινὰ καὶ τὰ ἀποβαίνοντα ἔχειν Refs 5th c.BC+[same place]; variant for{ἐκοινώνησε} in Refs 4th c.BC+:—in middle, κοινάσομαι [ὕμνον] λύρᾳ Refs 5th c.BC+[same place]: aorist middle in active sense, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. τὴν οὐσίαν τῇ τοῦ παιδός unite one to the other, Is. [prev. cited]
3 make common, defile, τὸν ἄνθρωπον LXX+NT:— middle, deem profane, NT
II middle, with accusative, undertake together, make common cause in, βουλεύματα Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 take counsel with, consult, especially an oracle or god, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὧν ἄν τις κοινώσαιτο δόξαις agree with, Refs 5th c.BC+; simply, communicate, τὰ κατ᾽ ἐμὲ τῇ βουλῇ Refs 4th c.BC+
II.3 c.genitive, to be partner or partaker, τινος of a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; τινί τινος with one in.., Refs 5th c.BC+
II.4 come to terms, μοι Refs 5th c.BC+
III passive, have communication with, λέχει Refs 5th c.BC+; ξανθῷ χρώματι -ωθέν, i.e. tinged with yellow, Refs
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| koinatōκοινοῖ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | defiles | 6× |
| koinatēκεκοίνωκεν | has happened · he/she/itperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | defiled | 1× |
| koinasōrκοίνου | happening now · youpresent active imperative 2nd person singular | call common | 2× |
| koinaraκοινῶσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | defile | 2× |
| koinarōnteimκοινοῦντα | happening now · subjectpresent active participle direct plural neuter | defile | 2× |
| koinorēntoinκεκοινωμένους | has happened · objectperfect middle or passive participle accusative plural masculine | defiled | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 140, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 7 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | koinamō | koiname | koinami | koinama | koinamē | koinamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | koinasō | koinase | koinasi | koinasa | koinasē | koinaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinatō6×κοινοῖ | koinate | koinati | koinata | koinatē1×κεκοίνωκεν | koinatelē |
| we 1st person plural | koinanō | koinane | koinani | koinana | koinanē | koinanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinavō | koinave | koinavi | koinava | koinavē | koinavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | koinalō | koinale | koinali | koinala | koinalē | koinalelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | koinomō | koinome | koinomē | koinomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | koinosō | koinose | koinosē | koinoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinotō | koinote | koinotē | koinotelē |
| we 1st person plural | koinonō | koinone | koinonē | koinonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinovō | koinove | koinovē | koinovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | koinolō | koinole | koinolē | koinolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | koinameiō | koinameia | koinameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | koinaseiō | koinaseia | koinaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinateiō | koinateia | koinateiē |
| we 1st person plural | koinaneiō | koinaneia | koinaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinaveiō | koinaveia | koinaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | koinaleiō | koinaleia | koinaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | koinomeiō | koinomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | koinoseiō | koinoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinoteiō | koinoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | koinoneiō | koinoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinoveiō | koinoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | koinoleiō | koinoleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 2 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | koinasōr2×κοίνου | koinasar | koinasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinatōr | koinatar | koinatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinavōr | koinavar | koinavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | koinalōr | koinalar | koinalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | koinosōr | koinosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinotōr | koinotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinovōr | koinovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | koinolōr | koinolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | koinamoiō | koinamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | koinasoiō | koinasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinatoiō | koinatoia |
| we 1st person plural | koinanoiō | koinanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinavoiō | koinavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | koinaloiō | koinaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | koinomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | koinosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | koinotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | koinonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | koinovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | koinoloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | koinarō | koinari | koinara2×κοινῶσαι | koinarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | koinorō | koinorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | koinarōntos2× | koinarintos | koinarantos | koinarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | koinorōntos | koinorēntos1× |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
koin is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
koinatō“defiles”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular6×
Matthew 15:11“defiles”ouk tem eiserchorōntem eis tem stomem koinatō ton anthrōpon, alla tem ekporeuorōntem ek …… man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
Matthew 15:11“defiles”… tem ekporeuorōntem ek teu stomeu houtem koinatō ton anthrōpon.… enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
Matthew 15:18“defiles”… stomeu ek tau kardiau exerchotō, kakeineim koinatō ton anthrōpon.… of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
Matthew 15:20… tem de aniptai cheirai esthiara ouk koinatō ton anthrōpon.… eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
Mark 7:20… Tem ek tou anthrōpou ekporeuorōntem ekeinem koinatō ton anthrōpon;… of a man, that is what defiles him.
Mark 7:23… houteim teim ponēreim esōthen ekporeuotō kai koinatō ton anthrōpon.… from within, and these are what defile a man.”
koinatē“defiled”has happened · he/she/itperfect active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 21:28… Hellēnoin eisagata eis tem hierem kai koinatē ton hagion topon houton.… brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
koinasōr“call common”happening now · youpresent active imperative 2nd person singular2×
Acts 10:15“call common”… Heim tos theos katharizata sis mē koinasōr.… time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
Acts 11:9“call common”… Heim tos theos katharizata sis mē koinasōr.… time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
koinara“defile”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive2×
Mark 7:15… anthrōpou eisporeuorōntem eis auton hem dunotō koinara auton; alla teim ek tou anthrōpou …… a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come …
Mark 7:18… eis ton anthrōpon ouk dunotō auton koinara,… a man from the outside can defile him,
koinarōnteim“defile”happening now · subjectpresent active participle direct plural neuter2×
Matthew 15:20houteim atō teim koinarōnteim ton anthrōpon, tem de aniptai cheirai …These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed …
Mark 7:15… ek tou anthrōpou ekporeuorōnteim atō teim koinarōnteim ton anthrōpon.… of a man, these are what defile him.”
koinorēntoin“defiled”has happened · objectperfect middle or passive participle accusative plural masculine1×
Hebrews 9:13“defiled”… tauroiu kai spodas damaliau rantizarōntas toin koinorēntoin hagiazatō pros tan tau sarkau katharotan,… goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so …