ζημία G2209
loss, damage, forfeit; the experience of losing something valuable
A noun denoting loss or damage, often set in opposition to gain (kerdos). In Acts 27 Paul warns the ship's company of impending loss of cargo and life (27:10), then reminds them he had predicted the damage they now suffer (27:21). Paul's most striking use appears in Philippians 3:7-8, where he counts every former advantage as 'loss' for Christ's sake—a deliberate commercial metaphor. The Spanish 'pérdida' and French 'perte' mirror this single, coherent sense of forfeiture.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Loss, damage, or forfeit—the experience of being deprived of something valuable, whether material or abstract. In the shipwreck narrative Paul warns of loss to cargo and lives (Acts 27:10) and later reminds them the damage was foreseeable (Acts 27:21). Philippians 3:7-8 transforms the word into a theological metaphor: Paul regards all prior religious credentials as 'loss' compared to knowing Christ. The commercial overtone—loss opposed to gain—is preserved uniformly across Spanish 'pérdida' and French 'perte.' 4×
AR["الخَسَارَةَ", "خَسارَةً", "خَسَارَةٍ"]·ben["ক্ষতি", "হানি", "হানির"]·DE["Verlust", "ζημίαν", "ζημίας"]·EN["loss"]·FR["perte", "ζημίαν"]·heb["הֶפְסֵד", "הֶפְסֵד."]·HI["नुकसानके", "नुकसानको।", "हअनि", "हअनि."]·ID["kerugian", "kerugian,", "kerugian."]·IT["perdita", "zēmian"]·jav["kapitunan,", "kapitunan.", "karugian"]·KO["손실을", "손실이", "손해.", "손해로"]·PT["perda", "perda,", "perda."]·RU["ущерба", "ущербом"]·ES["pérdida"]·SW["hasara"]·TR["kayıpla", "kayıptan", "zarar"]·urd["نقصان", "ہانی"]
Related Senses
H1961 1. be, exist, was (Qal copular/existential) (3505×)G1510 1. copulative, linking predication (2095×)G1096 1. become, change state (421×)G1096 2. happen, occur, take place (158×)G1510 2. participial, being (circumstantial/attributive) (157×)H3426 1. there is, there are (existence) (129×)G1510 3. infinitival, to be (128×)H1934 1. to be, exist (65×)H1961 2. become, come to be (Qal inchoative) (55×)G5225 1. to be, to exist (45×)H0194 1. (45×)G1096 3. come, arrive, appear (28×)G1096 4. let it be, may it be done (22×)H0383 1. there is/are, to exist (Aramaic existential particle) (19×)G1096 5. may it never be! (16×)G2673 1. abolish, bring to an end (16×)G1510 5. existential, there is/exists (15×)G5225 2. possessions, property, goods (14×)G1096 6. be, exist, find oneself (13×)H7136a 1. happen, occur, befall (12×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ζημία, Doric dialect ζᾱμία Refs 4th c.BC+, etc., later σαμία Refs 2nd c.BC+, ἡ, loss, damage, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to κέρδος, Refs 5th c.BC+; ζημίαν or -ίας λαβεῖν to sustain loss, Refs 5th c.BC+[same place]; ζ. εἶναι νομίζειν consider as loss, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 ζ. ἐργάζεσθαι, of a slave, be guilty of a delict, Refs 4th c.BC+ __II penalty in money, fine, ζημίην ἀποτίνειν Refs 5th c.BC+;…