δίς G1364
Adverb: twice, two times; in compound form: two myriads (twenty thousand).
The Greek adverb dis means simply 'twice' and appears in moments of pointed repetition throughout the New Testament. Peter hears the rooster crow 'twice' as Jesus foretold (Mark 14:30, 72), the Pharisee boasts of fasting 'twice a week' (Luke 18:12), and Paul recounts sending aid to Thessalonica 'twice' (Phil 4:16; 1 Thess 2:18). Spanish dos veces and French deux fois render it with transparent two-times constructions, while German zweimal follows the same pattern. A single specialized occurrence in Revelation 9:16 preserves the word in compound form as part of dismyriades myriados — 'two myriads of myriads' — yielding a vast cavalry number. Here the same root that elsewhere counts to two suddenly scales to cosmic arithmetic, and translations shift accordingly: Spanish dos miríadas, German Zehntausende.
2. two myriads — A compound numerical use in Revelation 9:16, where dis appears as part of the phrase dismyriades myriadon ('two myriads of myriads'), denoting a vast army of two hundred million. This is not 'twice' in the iterative sense but the numeral 'two' functioning as a multiplier within a compound expression for an apocalyptic military host. German Zehntausende and Spanish dos miríadas shift to large-number vocabulary, and the construction echoes Hellenistic Greek conventions for expressing enormous quantities through myriad-multiplication. 1×
AR["رِبْوَاتُ"]·ben["কোটি-কোটি"]·DE["Zehntausende"]·EN["two-myriads"]·FR["deux-fois"]·heb["מָאתַיִם"]·HI["बीस-करोड़"]·ID["dua-puluh-ribu"]·IT["dismuriades"]·jav["kalih-atus-yuta"]·KO["이만"]·PT["duas-miríades"]·RU["две-тьмы"]·ES["dos-miríadas"]·SW["mia-mbili-milioni"]·TR["iki-yüz"]·urd["دو-کروڑ"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. twice — The straightforward temporal-quantitative adverb meaning 'twice' or 'two times,' marking the repetition of an action or occurrence. Six of seven NT uses fall here, spanning Peter's denial scene where the rooster crows 'twice' (Mark 14:30, 72), the Pharisee's self-righteous claim of fasting 'twice a week' (Luke 18:12), and Paul's repeated attempts to visit Thessalonica (Phil 4:16; 1 Thess 2:18). Spanish dos veces, French deux fois, and German zweimal all converge on transparent 'two times' expressions, confirming the basic iterative meaning. The cognate Latin bis and Sanskrit dvis show the deep Indo-European pedigree of this numeral adverb. 6×
amh["ሁለት-ጊዜ"]·AR["مرتين","مَرَّتَينِ","مَرَّتَيْنِ"]·ben["দুইবার","দুবার","দ্বিগুণ"]·ces["dvakrát"]·dan["to-gange"]·DE["Zehntausende","zweimal","δὶς"]·ell["δις"]·EN["twice"]·FR["deux-fois"]·guj["બે-વાર"]·hat["de-fwa"]·hau["sau-biyu"]·heb["פַּעֲמַיִם","פַּעֲמַיִם,","פעמיים"]·HI["दो-बअर","दो-बअर,","दो-बार","दोबार"]·hun["kétszer"]·ID["dua kali","dua-kali"]·IT["dis","due-volte"]·jav["kaping-kalih","kaping-kalih,","kaping-pindho"]·JA["二度"]·KO["두-번","두-번,","두-번도"]·mar["दोनदा"]·mya["နှစ်ကြိမ်"]·nld["tweemaal"]·nor["to-ganger"]·pnb["دو-وار"]·pol["dwukrotnie"]·PT["duas-vezes"]·ron["de-două-ori"]·RU["дважды"]·ES["dos-veces"]·SW["lakini","mara-mbili"]·swe["dubbelt"]·tam["இருமுறை"]·tel["రెండుసారి"]·tgl["dalawang-beses"]·TH["สองครั้ง"]·TR["iki-kez"]·ukr["двічі"]·urd["دو-بار","دوبارہ"]·VI["hai-lần"]·yor["ẹ̀ẹ̀mejì"]·yue["兩次"]·ZH["两次"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
δίς [ῐ], adverb twice, doubly, with Nouns, δ. τόσσον twice as much, Refs 8th c.BC+twice over, Refs 5th c.BC+ = son and grandson of N., Refs; Αὐρήλιος Αὐξάνων δ. Refs; Αὐρ. Δοῦ[ρ]λος δ. Refs —In compounds δι-, but δισ- in δισμύριοι, δισχίλιοι, δισθανής, δίσαβος, δισάρπαγος, δίσευνος, etc. (Cf. Sanskrit dvis 'twice', Latin bis.)