ψάλλω; future
ψαλῶ; (from
ψάω, to rub, wipe; to handle, touch (but cf.
Curtius, p. 730));
a. to pluck off, pull out:
ἐθειραν, the hair,
Aeschylus Pers. 1062.
b. to cause to vibrate by touching, to twang:
τόξων νευράς χειρί,
Euripides, Bacch. 784; specifically,
χορδήν,
to touch or strike the chord, to twang the strings of a musical instrument so that they gently vibrate (
Aristotle, probl. 19, 23 (p. 919b, 2)); and absolutely,
to play on a stringed instrument, to play the harp, etc.:
Aristotle,
Plutarch,
Aratus (in
Plato,
Lysias, p. 209 b. with
καί κρούειν τῷ πλήκτρω added (but not as explanatory of it; the Schol. at the passage says
ψῆλαι,
τό ἄνευ πληκτρου τῷ δακτύλῳ τάς χορδας ἐπάφασθαι); it is distinguished from
κιθαρίζειν in
Herodotus 1, 155); the
Sept. for
נִנֵן and much more often for
זִמֵּר;
to sing to the music of the harp; in the N. T.
to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song, James 5:13 (
R. V. sing praise);
τῷ κυρίῳ,
τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ (often so in the
Sept.), in honor of God,
Ephesians 5:19 (here
A. V. making melody);
Romans 15:9;
ψαλῶ τῷ πνεύματι,
ψαλῶ δέ καί τῷ νοι, 'I will sing God's praises indeed with my whole soul stirred and borne away by the Holy Spirit, but I will also follow reason as my guide, so that what I sing may be understood alike by myself and by the listeners',
1 Corinthians 14:15.
THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON, Electronic Database.
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BLB Scripture Index of Thayer's