aorist

American  

[ey-uh-rist] / ˈeɪ ə rɪst /

noun

1. a verb tense, as in Classical Greek, expressing action or, in the indicative mood, past action, without further limitation or implication.

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adjective

1. of or in this tense.

aorist British  

/ ˈeɪərɪst, ˈɛərɪst /

noun

1. grammar a tense of the verb in classical Greek and in certain other inflected languages, indicating past action without reference to whether the action involved was momentary or continuous Compare perfect imperfect

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Other Word Forms

• aoristic
  adjective
• aoristically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of aorist

1575–85; < Greek aóristos unlimited, equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + ( h ) oristós limited ( *horid- (base of horízein to bound, limit; see horizon) + -tos adj. suffix)

Example Sentences

The distinction of sense was symbolized by a distinction of pronunciation, the root-syllable of the aorist being an abbreviated form of that of the present.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various

The aorist form has, besides its own, the sense of the perfect.

From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)

The tense signs are suffixed, and consist merely of terminal letters or syllables, except two true particles, which distinguish the continued present from the present aorist.

From The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on the American Verb by Brinton, Daniel Garrison

The middle and passive voices are alike except in two tenses, the future and the aorist.

From A Greek Primer For Beginners in New Testament Greek by Stearns, Wallace

The aorist, edouleusen, will in this case gather up into one the whole recollection.

From Philippian Studies Lessons in Faith and Love from St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians by Moule, H. C. G. (Handley Carr Glyn)