adverb
pote
Strong’sG4218
at one time or other
stem pote-29 times in the New Testamentin 14 of 27 booksnever changes form
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
ποτέ is a small connecting word meaning "once," "formerly," "at some time" when it points to the past, and "ever" when it points to an indefinite or general time, often after a negative or in a question 1234. Used of the past, it marks something that used to be true or happened once but no longer applies 13. Used of the future, it can mean "at some time" or, with emphasis, "at last, at length" 13. In questions it strengthens the sense, as in "who ever" or "what ever" 13. After a negative it means "never" in effect, i.e. "not ever" 1.
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
ποτέ,
enclitic particle,G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4218 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpot-eh'
indefinite adverb, at some time, ever
Fromfrom the base of G4225 and G5037;
King Jamesafore-(any, some-)time(-s), at length (the last), (+ n- )ever, in the old time, in time past, once, when.
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
Ionic dialect κότε, Doric dialect πόκα Refs 3rd c.BC+:—interrogative Particle used in direct and indirect questions, when? at what time? Refs 8th c.BC+; πότ᾽ ἆρ; ={πότε} with ἆρα Refs 5th c.BC+
II indefinite ποτε (Attic dialect, also Refs 4th c.BC+, Ionic dialect κοτε, Doric dialect ποκα, Aeolic dialect ποτα Refs 7th c.BC+
II.1 at some time or other, at some time, τάχ᾽ ἄν ποτε θυμὸν ὀλέσσῃ Refs 8th c.BC+; π. καὶ ἄλλοτε at certain other times, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 in hypothetical clauses, questions, etc., at any time, ever, Refs 5th c.BC+; compare εἴ ποτε: also with relatives (compare δήποτε), Ζεὺς ὅστις ποτ᾽ ἐστίν Refs 4th c.BC+; ὅποι ποτέ, ὅπου π., etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; after πω, πη, see at {πώποτε, πήποκα}: very frequently with negatives, οὔτε ποτ᾽.. Refs 8th c.BC+; compare οὔποτε, μήποτε, οὐδέποτε, μηδέποτε, οὐπώποτε, μηπώποτε.
II.3 in correlative clauses it stands first, with accent, ποτὲ μὲν.., ποτὲ δὲ.. at one time.., at another.., Refs 5th c.BC+; ποτὲ δὲ.., without any preceding Part., Refs 4th c.BC+
III of some unknown point of time,
III.1 in reference to the past, once, ὅν ποτ᾽ Ἀθήνη θρέψε Refs 8th c.BC+; especially in telling a story, once upon a time, οὕτω ποτ᾽ ἦν μῦς καὶ γαλῆ Refs 5th c.BC+: with historic present, Refs 5th c.BC+: with a substantive, εἰς τήν π. φιλίαν Refs 5th c.BC+
III.1.b at length, μόγις δή κοτε εἶπε Refs 5th c.BC+
III.2 in reference to the future, at some time, καί π. τοι.. παρέσσεται.. δῶρα Refs 8th c.BC+: also to denote earnest expectation, at length, εὔχεταί π. οἶκον ἰδεῖν Refs 5th c.BC+dimitte tandem aliquando, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὀψέ π. Refs 4th c.AD+
III.3 with intensive force, in questions, τίς ποτ; who in the world? τίνες ποτ᾽ ἐστ; Refs 5th c.BC+; τί ποτ᾽ ἐστὶ τοῦτο τὸ πάθος what it can possibly be, Refs 5th c.BC+; to strengthen ἀεί, ἀεί ποτε from all time, always in the past, ἀεί ποτε ζῇ ταῦτα Refs 5th c.BC+
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.
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.
29 occurrences, every one of them listed
pote29×
Luke 22:32… eklipateia tas pistias su; kai sis pote epistrefarantos stērizasar toin adelfoin su.… your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your …
Romans 1:10… proseuchaiu mu, dorōntos ei pōs ēdē pote euodimi en te thelēme tou theou …… at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed …
Romans 7:9mis de zōame chōris nomou pote; ercharantau de tau entolau tas hamartas …Once I was alive apart from the …
Romans 11:30“once”hōsper gar vis pote apeithava to theo, nun de elēiva …Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their …
Galatians 1:13Akouava gar tan ēman anastrofan pote en to Ioudaismo, hoti kata huperbolan …For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how …
Galatians 1:23… akouarōntois ale hoti Tos diōkarōntos nin pote nun euangelizotō tan pistian han pote …… heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the …
Galatians 1:23… pote nun euangelizotō tan pistian han pote porthate,… is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
Galatians 2:6“once”… de toiu dokarōntoiu arō tinem hopoiois pote ale oudenem mi diaferatō; prosōpem theos …But as for the highly esteemed— whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not …
Ephesians 2:2“once”en hai pote peripatava kata ton aiōnon tou kosmou …in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of …
Ephesians 2:3“once”en hoi kai nis pantois anastrefina pote en tai epithumiai tau sarkau nu, …All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by …
Ephesians 2:11“at one time”Dio mnēmoneuavōr hoti pote vis teim ethneim en sarka, tois …Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision …
Ephesians 2:13… de en Christo Iēso vis hois pote arōntois makran geniva engus en te …… now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought …
Ephesians 5:8ave gar pote skotem, nun de fōtem en kurio; …For you were once darkness, but now you are light …
Ephesians 5:29oudenos gar pote tan heautou sarkan misata, alla ektrefatō …Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he …
Philippians 4:10… de en kurio megalōs hoti ēdē pote anathallava tem huper mu fronarō, epi …… rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for …
Colossians 1:21kai vin pote arōntoin apallotriorēntoin kai echthroin ta dianoia …Once you were alienated from God and …
Colossians 3:7“once”en hei kai vis peripatava pote hote zōave en houtei;When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways.
1 Thessalonians 2:5“at any time”oute gar pote en logo kolakeiau genina, kathōs oidavē, …As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God …
Titus 3:3“once”ane gar pote kai nis anoētois, apeithois, planorōntois, douleuarōntois …For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all …
Hebrews 1:5Tino gar legata pote toiu angeloiu; Huios mu asō sis, …… which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today …
Hebrews 1:13pros tinon de toiu angeloiu legatē pote; Kathosōr ek dexeiu mu heōs an …… which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand …
1 Peter 2:10hois pote ouk laos nun de laos theou, …Once you were not a people, but …
1 Peter 3:5“in former times”houtōs gar pote kai tais hagiais gunaikais tais elpizarōntais …For this is how the holy women of the …
1 Peter 3:20“once”apeitharantoi pote hote apekdechote tas tou theou makrothumias …… long ago when God waited patiently in the days of …
2 Peter 1:10“once”… houteim gar poiarōntois ouk mē ptaiaveia pote;… election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,
2 Peter 1:21ouk gar thelēme anthrōpou ferita profēteias pote, alla hupo pneumeu hagieu ferorōntois lalala …For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of …
John 9:13“formerly”Agalō auton pros toin Farisaioin ton pote tuflon.They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
1 Corinthians 9:7“ever”tinos strateuotō idiei opsōniei pote? tinos futeuatō ampelōnon kai ton karpon …Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends …
Philemon 1:11ton pote si achrēston nuni de si kai …Formerly he was useless to you, but …