ἀκατα-κάλυπτος G0177
uncovered, unveiled, without a head covering
This adjective describes the state of being without a covering, specifically referring to the head. Both occurrences appear in Paul's discussion of head coverings in worship in 1 Corinthians 11. In verse 5, a woman praying or prophesying ἀκατακαλύπτῳ κεφαλῇ (with uncovered head) dishonors her head. Verse 13 asks whether it is proper for a woman to pray uncovered. The cultural context involves practices of veiling and honor, though the theological principle Paul draws from this remains debated.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The translations uniformly express the state of being uncovered: Spanish 'descubierta,' French 'découvert,' German 'unbedeckt.' Both verses occur within a single paragraph addressing the same cultural practice. The LXX background and classical usage confirm the literal sense of lacking a covering, particularly head covering in contexts of worship or social propriety. 2×
AR["بِغَيرِ-غِطاءٍ", "غَيرُ-مُغَطَّاةٍ"]·ben["অনাবৃত,", "অনাবৃতে"]·DE["unbedeckt"]·EN["uncovered", "with-uncovered"]·FR["découvert"]·heb["בְּ-לֹא-מְכֻסָּה"]·HI["अनढ़की", "अनढ़के"]·ID["tidak-berkerudung"]·IT["senza-velo"]·jav["tanpa-kudung", "tanpa-kudung,"]·KO["덮이지-않고", "덮이지-않은"]·PT["com-descoberta", "descoberta,"]·RU["непокрытой", "непокрытой,"]·ES["descubierta"]·SW["bila-kufunika", "bila-kufunika,"]·TR["Tanrı'ya-", "örtüsüz-"]·urd["بے-پردہ"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀκατα-κάλυπτος, ον, uncovered, LXX+2nd c.BC+