ἀντίδῐκ-ος G0476
An opponent or adversary, especially in a legal dispute; by extension, any hostile accuser or enemy.
In classical Greek this word designated a legal opponent -- either plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit. The New Testament preserves this courtroom flavor in Jesus' parable about settling with your adversary on the way to the judge (Matt 5:25; Luke 12:58), while the widow's persistent plea against her adversary (Luke 18:3) shows the word in a broader sense of someone causing harm. Peter's application to the devil as a roaring lion (1 Pet 5:8) elevates the term to cosmic enmity. Spanish 'adversario' and French 'adversaire' both mirror the forensic-yet-general range faithfully.
Senses
1. sense 1 — An adversary or opponent, rooted in legal terminology for a party in a lawsuit but used broadly for any hostile figure. In Matt 5:25 and Luke 12:58 the forensic setting is explicit -- settle with your antidikos before reaching the judge. The widow's plea in Luke 18:3 broadens the usage to a general oppressor, and 1 Pet 5:8 applies it to the devil himself as the ultimate spiritual adversary. All five occurrences share the core notion of active opposition. 5×
AR["الْخَصْمُ", "خَصمُكُم", "خَصمِ", "خَصْمِكَ"]·ben["বিপক্ষ", "বিবাদী", "বিবাদীর", "বিরোধীর"]·DE["ἀντίδικος", "ἀντιδίκου", "ἀντιδίκῳ"]·EN["adversary", "opponent"]·FR["adversaire"]·heb["יְרִיבִי", "יָרִיב", "שׂוֹנֵא"]·HI["विरोधी", "विरोधी-से"]·ID["lawan", "lawanku", "lawanmu", "musuh"]·IT["antidiko", "antidikos", "antidikou"]·jav["lawan-prakawis", "mengsah", "tiyang-ingkang-nggugat"]·KO["고소하는-자", "대적자와", "원수", "원수에게서"]·PT["adversário"]·RU["противник", "противником", "соперник", "соперника", "сопернику"]·ES["adversario"]·SW["adui", "mpinzani", "mshitaki"]·TR["davacı", "davacına", "düşmanınız", "hasma", "hasminla"]·urd["دشمن", "مخالف", "مخالف-سے"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀντίδῐκ-ος, ον, opponent or adversary in a suit, Refs 5th c.BC+: properly, the defendant, Refs 5th c.BC+; but also, the plaintiff, Lys7.13; ἀ. πρός τιναRefs 5th c.BC+:—generally, opponent, adversary, Refs 4th c.BC+; ἀληθινῶν ἀ. [NT+1st c.BC+