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; horizon ) + -tos adj. suffix)

Example Sentences

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)

Other forms which Greek has added to the original system are the pluperfect—in form a past of the perfect stem with aorist endings.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various

It will be evident that under this rule the perfect and first aorist subjunctive should always take a short vowel; and this accordingly is the case, with very few exceptions.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus" by Various

The true view is, that in curro the aorist form is replaced by the perfect, and in vixi the perfect form is replaced by the aorist.

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

Thank you, Meyrick, for your most original ideas on the force of the aorist.

From The Secret Glory by Machen, Arthur