ἀεί G0104
Always, ever, at all times; denoting continuous or habitual recurrence.
A temporal adverb meaning 'always' or 'ever,' indicating something that occurs continually or without cessation. In the New Testament it appears in contexts ranging from Stephen's accusation that Israel 'always' resists the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51) to Paul's paradox of 'always dying yet living' (2 Cor 4:11; 6:10). The Cretan proverb quoted in Titus 1:12 uses it to characterize habitual behavior. Across all languages the rendering is remarkably consistent — Spanish 'siempre,' French 'toujours,' German 'immer' — a word whose meaning has remained stable for millennia.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Denoting perpetual, continual, or habitual action — 'always, ever, at all times.' The multilingual evidence shows perfect convergence: English 'always,' Spanish 'siempre,' French 'toujours,' German 'immer.' In Acts 7:51 Stephen charges Israel with perpetually resisting the Holy Spirit; in 2 Cor 4:11 Paul describes being 'always delivered over to death'; in Titus 1:12 it captures the habitual character of Cretans. Hebrews 3:10 quotes Psalm 95 where God says 'they always go astray in their heart.' No semantic subdivision is warranted — all uses express unbroken or characteristic continuity. 7×
AR["دائِماً", "دائِمًا", "دَائِمًا"]·ben["সবসময়", "সর্বদা"]·DE["immer"]·EN["always"]·FR["toujours"]·heb["תָּמִיד"]·HI["सदा", "हमेश"]·ID["Selalu", "selalu", "terus-menerus"]·IT["sempre"]·jav["salaminipun", "tansah"]·KO["항상"]·PT["Sempre", "sempre"]·RU["Всегда", "всегда"]·ES["Siempre", "siempre"]·SW["Daima", "daima", "lakini-siku-zote", "siku-zote"]·TR["-o", "Her-zaman", "her zaman", "her-zaman"]·urd["ہمیشہ"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G2250 1. day (388×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H3915 1. night, period of darkness (234×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H5750 2. still, yet (continuative) (166×)G5119 1. then (160×)G3568 1. now (147×)G2193 1. until (143×)G3825 1. (141×)G3752 1. (123×)H6153 1. evening, time of day (123×)H0227a 1. then (122×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀεί, adverb ever, always, Refs 8th c.BC+; with other specifications of time, ἐμμενὲς αἰείRefs 8th c.BC+; ἀ. καθ᾽ ἡμέραν, καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἀ., ἀ. καὶ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν, ἀ. κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτόν, ἀ. διὰ βίου, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; δεῦρ᾽ ἀεί until now, Refs 5th c.BC+; αἰεί κοτε, ποτε from of old, Refs 5th c.BC+; compare εἰσαεί:—with the Article, ὁ ἀ. χρόνος eternity, Refs 5th c.BC+; οἱ ἀ. ὄντες the immortals, Refs 5th…