ἀποκάλυψις

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /a.po.ká.lyp.sis/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /a.poˈka.lyp.sis/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /a.poˈka.lyp.sis/^[1]

Forms

ᾰ̓ποκᾰ́λῠψῐς (apokálupsis) f (genitive ᾰ̓ποκᾰλῠ́ψεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is derived from ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalúptō, “to uncover, reveal”) with the suffix of action nouns -σις (-sis).^[1][2] The verb is formed from ἀπο- (apo-, “off, away”) and καλύπτω (kalúptō, “to cover”), from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to cover, conceal”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Septuagint it is the uncovering of nakedness, in First Samuel, and in Sirach the disclosure of a man's deeds and of secrets.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

In secular Greek it meant a physical uncovering: Philodemus uses it for baring the head, and Plutarch for the uncovering of hidden springs and, figuratively, the disclosure of a sin.^[6][7][2]

The New Testament uses it only in a religious sense: the revelation of truth and of divine mysteries, as in Romans, revelations received in visions, as Paul's “revelation of Jesus Christ”, and the manifestation of Christ at the end of time.^[2][6] The last book of the Bible opens with the words “the revelation of Jesus Christ”, and so came to be called the Apocalypse.^[2][6][3] Hesychius glosses it as “foreknowledge, prior vision”.^[8]

Latin borrowed it as apocalypsis, and English used apocalypse from the late 14th century for a revelation; the sense of the end of the world comes from the content of the book.^[3][1] Modern Greek has αποκάλυψη (apokálypsi).^[1]

Timeline

• 3rd–1st century BC – The Septuagint uses it for uncovering and disclosure.^[4]
• 1st century BC – Philodemus uses it for baring the head.^[6][2]
• 1st century AD – Paul uses it for divine revelation.^[2]
• 1st century AD – The Book of Revelation opens with the word.^[2]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for disclosing hidden springs.^[6][7]
• Late 14th century – English borrows apocalypse.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. An uncovering, as of the head; nakedness.^[6][5]
2. A disclosure, as of hidden springs or of a sin.^[7][6]
3. (New Testament) A revelation, especially of divine mysteries.^[2][6]
4. (New Testament) A manifestation, as of Christ at the end of time.^[6][2]
5. (capitalised) The Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation.^[6]

Related words

• ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalúptō)
• καλύπτω (kalúptō)
• Latin apocalypsis
• English apocalypse

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
5. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)