adjective
perissos
Strong’sG4055
greater, more
stem periss-15 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books0 of 26 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
Greater, more — the comparative form describing something that goes beyond a given amount, degree, or standard 24. It can express abundance beyond the usual: more abundant, exceedingly great, or even more than is needed 2. It can also be used of number, meaning a greater quantity of things, or an extra amount beyond a fixed count 3.
It is also used to compare one thing or person with another, meaning one that is greater than, or superior to, the other 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:
Strong’s G4055 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidper-is-sot'-er-os
more superabundant (in number, degree or character)
Fromcomparative of G4053;
King Jamesmore abundant, greater (much) more, overmuch.
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
Attic dialect περιττός, ή, όν, (from περί, as ἔπισσαι from ἐπί, μέτασσαι from μετά) beyond the regular number or size, prodigious, δῶρα Refs 8th c.BC+; στάθμα, uncertain meaning, see at {ἕλκω} Refs 5th c.BC+
2 out of the common, extraordinary, strange, ἔ τι περισσὸν εἰδείη if he has any signal knowledge, Refs 6th c.BC+; εἴ τι φρονεῖς καί τι περισσὸν ἔχεις Philisc.Refs 5th c.BC+; ἴδια καὶ π. Refs 4th c.BC+; πρᾶξις π. Refs; τί π. ποιεῖτ; NT+4th c.BC+; συνανθρωπίζον.. πάντων περισσότατον, of the dog, Refs 4th c.BC+; in Literature, striking, τὸ περιττόν, as a quality of οἱ τοῦ Σωκράτους λόγοι, Refs 4th c.BC+; τὰ σοφὰ καὶ τὰ π. refinements, Refs 4th c.BC+; opposed to κοινὸς καὶ δημώδης, Refs 3rd c.AD+ (but also, elaborate, π. καὶ πεποιημένος Refs; in bad sense, far-fetched, Refs 1st c.BC+
3 of persons, extraordinary, remarkable, especially for great learning, π. ὢν ἀνήρ Refs 5th c.BC+; δυστυχεῖς εἶναι τοὺς π. Refs 4th c.BC+: frequently with the manner added, π. κατὰ φιλοσοφίαν Refs; περὶ τὸν ἄλλον βίον περιττότερος somewhat extravagant or eccentric, Refs; τῇ φύσει π. Refs 1st c.AD+: with infinitive, Refs 1st c.BC+
4 with genitive, περισσὸς ἄλλων πρός τι beyond others in.., Refs 5th c.BC+; θύσει τοῦδε περισσότερα greater things than this, Refs 2nd c.AD+one greater than.., NT
II more than sufficient, superfluous, αἱ π. δαπάναι Refs 5th c.BC+; περιττὸν ἔχειν to have a surplus, Refs; οἱ μὲν.. περιττὰ ἔχουσιν, οἱ δὲ οὐδὲ τὰ ἀναγκαῖα.. Refs more than sufficient, Refs the reserve horse, Refs; π. σκηναί spare tents, Refs their superior numbers, Refs; τὸ π. the surplus, residue, Inscription cited in [same work]Refs the advantage of the Jew, NT; Ἁρπυιῶν τὰ π. their leavings, Refs 1st c.AD+; τὸ π. τῆς ἡμέρας the remainder of the day, Refs 2nd c.AD+; π. γράμματα supplementary provisions in a will, Refs 2nd c.AD+
II.2 in bad sense, superfluous, useless, οὐδέ τι τοῦ παντὸς κενεὸν πέλει οὐδὲ π. Refs 5th c.BC+; μόχθος π. Refs 5th c.BC+
II.3 excessive, extravagant, μηχανᾶσθαι περισσά commit extravagances, Refs 5th c.BC+; περισσὰ δρᾶν, πράσσειν, to be over-busy, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. φρονεῖν to be over-wise, Refs 5th c.BC+; μῆκος πολὺ λόγων π. Refs; redundant, overdone, οἱ καρτεροὶ καὶ π. λόγοι Refs; of dress, ἐσθὴς π. NT+1st c.AD+; τοῦ τὰ δέοντ᾽ ἔχειν περιττὰ μισῶ I hate extravagance in comparison with moderation, Refs 2nd c.AD+
II.4 of persons, over-wise, over-curious, περισσὸς καὶ φρονῶν μέγα Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ πολυπράγμων καὶ π. Refs 2nd c.BC+; τὴν περὶ τὸ σῶμα θεραπείαν ἀκριβὴς καὶ π. Refs 1st c.AD+; so, of speakers, π. ἐν τοῖς λόγοις Δημοσθένης Refs 4th c.BC+
II.5 as a term of praise, subtle, acute, ἀκριβὴς καὶ π. διάνοια Refs 4th c.BC+
III Arith., ἀριθμὸς π. an odd, uneven number, opposed to ἄρτιος, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸ π. καὶ τὸ ἄρτιον the nature of odd and even, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. χῶραι the odd places in a verse, Refs 3rd c.BC+
IV περισσότεροι more in number, extra, Carnead. cited in Refs 2nd c.AD+
V περιττόν, τό, ={στρύχνος μανικός, θρύον}Refs 4th c.BC+
B adverb περισσῶς extraordinarily, exceedingly, θεοσεβέεες π. ἐόντες Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐπαινέσεται π. Refs 5th c.BC+; π. παῖδας ἐκδιδάσκεσθαι to have them educated overmuch, Refs; περιττοτέρως τῶν ἄλλων far above all others, Refs 5th c.BC+
B.2 remarkably, περισσότερον τῶν ἄλλων θάψαι τινά more sumptuously, Refs 5th c.BC+; περιττότατα ἔχειν to be most remarkable, Refs 4th c.BC+; περισσότατα ἀνθρώπων θρησκεύειν in the most singular way, Refs 2nd c.AD+; ἡδέως καὶ π. in an uncommon manner, Refs 1st c.BC+; εἰπεῖν στρογγύλως καὶ π. Refs; ἰδίως καὶ π. Refs 1st c.AD+; τὰ καινῶς ἱστορούμενα καὶ π. Refs
B.3 abundantly, ἐχέτω π. τῆς κρόκης Refs 4th c.AD+
B.4 with a negative, οὐδὲν περισσὸν τούτων nothing more than or beyond these, Refs 5th c.BC+; οὐδὲν π. ἢ εἰ.. no otherwise than if.., Refs; περισσόν alone, furthermore, LXX
B.5 τὰ περισσά in vain, Refs 2nd c.AD+
B.II ἐκ περιττοῦ superfluously, uselessly, Refs 5th c.BC+; but ὑπερέχειν ἐκ π. to be far superior, Refs; ἡ κάμινος ἐκαύθη ἐκ π. LXX+2nd c.AD+
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
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | perissos | perissas | perissem | perissois | perissais | perisseim |
| object accusative | perisson | perissan | perissoin | perissain | ||
| direct address vocative | perissor | perissar | perissoir | perissair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | perissou | perissau | perisseu | perissoiu | perissaiu | perisseiu |
| to, for dative | perisso | perissa | perisse | perissoi | perissai | perissei |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
periss 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.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
perissoterem9×
Mark 12:33… tem agaparō ton plēsion hōs heauton perissoterem atō panteiu teiu holokautōmeiu kai thusiaiu.… your neighbor as yourself. This is more important than all burnt offerings and …
Mark 12:40… kai profasia makreim proseuchorōntois; houtois labeli perissoterem krimem.… lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
Luke 12:4… sōmem kai meta houteim mē echarōntoiu perissoterem tinem poiara.… and after that can do no more.
Luke 12:48… para autou, kai ho paratithela pollem, perissoterem aitali auton.… has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.
Luke 20:47… kai profasia makreim proseucholō; houtois labeli perissoterem krimem.… lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
1 Corinthians 15:10… eis min ouk kenas genita, alla perissoterem autoiu pantoiu kopiama, ouk mis de …… not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not …
2 Corinthians 10:8“more”ean tē gar perissoterem tinem kauchemeia peri tau exousiau nu, …For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord …
Hebrews 6:17“even more”en he perissoterem boulorōntos tos theos epideikara toi klēronomoi …So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the …
Hebrews 7:15Kai perissoterem ēti katadēlem atō, ei kata tan …And this point is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek …
perissoteran3×
1 Corinthians 12:23… atimotereim arō teu sōmeu, houtei timan perissoteran peritithanō, kai teim aschēmoneim nu euschēmosunan …… consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are …
1 Corinthians 12:23“greater”… peritithanō, kai teim aschēmoneim nu euschēmosunan perissoteran echatō,… greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty,
1 Corinthians 12:24… theos sunkerannuata tem sōmem, te husterarōnte perissoteran dōarantos timan,… composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked …
perissoteron2×
Matthew 11:9… profēton horara? nai, legamō vi, kai perissoteron profētou.… prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Luke 7:26… horara? profēton? nai, legamō vi, kai perissoteron profētou.… prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
perissotera1×
2 Corinthians 2:7… charizera kai parakalara, mē pōs ta perissotera lupa katapiniteia tos toioutos.… he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.