aorist

American  

[ay-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

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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)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aorist

The former made the greatest of English books out of their Hebrew and Greek originals; but the latter understood the force of the aorist.

From The Secret Glory by Arthur Machen

The weight of the first syllable in the aorist further caused the person-endings to be shortened, and so two sets of person-endings, usually termed primary and secondary, sprang into existence.

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

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

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

Present, aorist, and reduplicated perfect, as forming a skeleton conjugation, iv.

From Chips from a German Workshop - Volume IV Essays chiefly on the Science of Language by F. Max (Friedrich Max) Müller

One form alone was available to express those modifications which are indicated by the imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, and aorist tenses of the classical languages.

From Story of Creation as Told By Theology and By Science by T. S. (Thomas Suter) Ackland

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