μηδείς G3367
No one, nobody; nothing, not anything; no, not any (as adjective). Negative pronoun/adjective used in non-indicative contexts.
The Greek compound μηδείς (from μηδέ + εἷς, literally 'not even one') is the negative pronoun and adjective used with subjunctive, imperative, infinitive, and participial constructions — the non-indicative counterpart of οὐδείς. In the Gospels it appears prominently in Jesus' commands to silence after healings: 'tell no one' (Matt 8:4; 9:30; Mark 1:44). As a neuter substantive (μηδέν), it means 'nothing' — Paul's 'be anxious about nothing' (Phil 4:6) and Peter's 'do nothing from partiality' (1 Tim 5:21). A rarer adjectival use modifies nouns directly: 'no occasion of stumbling' (1 John 2:10). Spanish nadie/nada, French personne/rien, and German niemand/nichts all split along the person/thing axis that μηδείς encodes in a single paradigm through gender inflection.
Senses
1. no one, nobody — Substantive use referring to persons: 'no one, nobody, not anyone' (49 occurrences). This is the most frequent function, appearing in prohibitions ('tell no one,' Matt 8:4; Mark 1:44), warnings ('let no one deceive you,' 2 Thess 2:3), and generalizations ('no one can serve two masters' uses οὐδείς, but the μηδείς parallel appears in conditional and hortatory frames). Spanish nadie, French personne, German niemand, and Arabic لا أحد all deploy dedicated person-negating pronouns, confirming cross-linguistic stability. 49×
AR["أحَدٌ", "أَحَدٌ", "لا", "لا-أحَدَ", "لا-أَحَدٌ", "لا-أَحَدَ", "لَا-أَحَدٍ", "لَا-تَقُلْ-لِأَحَدٍ", "لِ-أَحَدٍ", "لِأَحَدٍ"]·ben["কাউকে", "কাউকে-না", "কেউ", "কেউ-না"]·DE["nichts"]·EN["No-one", "no-one", "to-no-one"]·FR["personne", "rien"]·heb["אִישׁ", "אִישׁ-אַל", "אִישׁ-אַל-", "אִישׁ-לֹא", "אִישׁ־אַל", "אֵין-אִישׁ", "אַל-יְרַמֶּה-אִישׁ", "אַל-יִתְפָּאֵר-אִישׁ", "אַף-אֶחָד", "אַף־אֶחָד", "לְ-אִישׁ", "לְ-אִישׁ-לֹא", "לְאִישׁ"]·HI["किसि-को-नहिन", "किसी-को", "किसी-से", "कोइ-न", "कोइ-नहिन", "कोइ-भि", "कोई", "कोई-न", "कोई-नहीं", "मत"]·ID["Jangan-seorang-pun", "Jangan-seorangpun", "jangan ada yang", "jangan-kepada-siapa-pun", "jangan-seorang-pun", "jangan-seorangpun", "kepada-siapa-pun", "siapa-pun", "tidak seorang pun", "tidak-seorang-pun", "tidak-seorangpun"]·IT["nessuno"]·jav["Mboten-sinten", "Mboten-wonten-tiyang", "Sampun-satunggal", "Sampun-wonten", "boten-satunggal-tiyang", "boten-satunggala", "boten-wonten-tiyang", "mboten-wonten", "mboten-wonten-tiyang", "sampun-ngantos-sinten", "sampun-ngantos-tiyang", "sampun-satunggal", "sampun-satunggal-tiyang", "sapa-waé", "sinten-kemawon", "sinten-kémawon", "sinten-sinten"]·KO["아무-에게도", "아무도", "아무에게도"]·PT["Ninguém", "a-ninguém", "ninguém"]·RU["Никто", "Никто-", "никому", "никто"]·ES["Nadie", "a-nadie", "nadie", "que-nadie"]·SW["Mtu-yeyote", "Mtu-yeyote-asijidanganye", "asije-mtu", "mtu-yeyote", "mtu-yeyote-"]·TR["Hiç-kimse", "hiç kimse", "hiç-kimse", "hiç-kimseye", "kimse", "kimseye"]·urd["کسی-کو", "کسی-کو-بھی-نہ", "کوئی", "کوئی-نہ", "کوئی-نہیں"]
Matt 8:4, Matt 9:30, Matt 16:20, Matt 17:9, Matt 27:19, Mark 1:44, Mark 5:43, Mark 7:36, Mark 8:30, Mark 9:9, Mark 11:14, Luke 3:13 (+37 more)
2. nothing, not anything — Substantive use referring to things: 'nothing, not anything' (37 occurrences). The neuter μηδέν functions as a pronoun negating the existence or relevance of any thing or matter: 'take nothing for the journey' (Mark 6:8), 'expecting nothing in return' (Luke 6:35), 'be anxious about nothing' (Phil 4:6). Spanish nada, French rien, German nichts, and Korean 아무것도 all employ thing-negating pronouns distinct from the person-negating forms of sense 1, showing that languages consistently bifurcate this semantic space. 37×
AR["أَلَّا", "أَنَّهُ-لَا-شَيْءَ", "دونَ-أَن", "شَيئًا", "شَيْئًا", "لا", "لا-شَيءَ", "لا-شَيْئاً", "لَا-شَيْءَ", "لَا-شَيْئًا", "لَيْسَ"]·ben["কিছু", "কিছু-না", "কিছুই", "কিছুই-না", "কিছুতেই-না"]·DE["nichts"]·EN["nothing"]·FR["personne", "rien"]·heb["דָּבָר", "כְּלוּם", "מְאוּמָה", "מְאוּמָה-לֹא", "מִמְּאוּמָה"]·HI["कुच-नहि", "कुछ", "कुछ-नहीं", "कुछ-भी", "कुछ-भी-नहीं", "कुछनहीं", "पाकर", "बिना", "लाभ-पाकर"]·ID["apa-pun", "padahal-bukan-apa-apa", "tanpa", "tidak", "tidak-ada", "tidak-memiliki-apa-pun"]·IT["nessuno"]·jav["apa-waé", "boten-punapa-punapa", "boten-wonten", "mboten-punapa-punapa", "mboten-wonten", "ora-ana", "punapa-punapa", "sampun", "sanès-satunggal", "tanpa"]·KO["그들-을", "아무것도", "아무것도-없이", "어떤-것도"]·PT["em-nada", "nada"]·RU["ничего", "ничего-", "ничем", "ничуть"]·ES["de-nada", "en-nada", "nada"]·SW["bila", "bila-kusita", "bila-kuuliza", "chochote", "hakuna", "hakuna-kitu", "hakuna-kitu,", "hakupata-faida-yoyote", "lakini-hakuna", "si-kitu", "tusio-na-kitu,"]·TR["hiçbir", "hiçbir şey", "hiçbir şeyi olmayan", "hiçbir-şey", "hiçbir-şeyde-", "hiçbirşey", "olağan-dışı", "sorgulamayarak"]·urd["اور", "کچھ", "کچھ-بھی", "کچھ-بھی-نہیں", "کچھ-نہ", "کچھ-نہیں"]
Mark 1:44, Mark 5:26, Mark 6:8, Luke 4:35, Luke 6:35, Acts 4:21, Acts 8:24, Acts 10:20, Acts 11:12, Acts 15:28, Acts 16:28, Acts 19:36 (+25 more)
3. no, not any (adjective) — Adjectival use modifying a noun directly: 'no, not any' — functioning as a determiner that negates the noun it qualifies (5 occurrences). Examples include 'lacking in no gift' (1 Cor 1:7), 'let no one deceive you in any way' (2 Thess 2:3, where μηδείς modifies τρόπος), and 'give no occasion to the adversary' (1 Tim 5:14). Here μηδείς agrees in gender/number/case with its head noun rather than standing alone as a pronoun. Spanish ningún/ninguna and French aucun/aucune use dedicated adjectival negators, distinguishing this function from the pronominal uses. 5×
AR["أيُّةِ", "أَيَّ", "أَيِّ"]·ben["কোনো", "কোনো-না"]·DE["nichts"]·EN["any", "no", "no-longer", "nothing"]·FR["personne", "rien"]·heb["שֶׁלֹא", "שׁוּם"]·HI["किसि-भि", "किसी", "किसी-भी", "कोइ-नहिन", "कोई"]·ID["cara-apapun", "satu-pun", "tidak-ada"]·IT["nessuno"]·jav["boten-wonten", "mboten-satunggal", "mboten-wonten", "punapa-punapa"]·KO["아무", "아무도", "어떤"]·PT["nenhum", "nenhuma"]·RU["каком", "никаким", "никакого"]·ES["ninguna", "ningún"]·SW["hakuna", "hofu-yoyote", "karama-yoyote", "mtu-yeyote", "yoyote"]·TR["armağanda", "hiç-bir", "hiçbir"]·urd["کسی-بھی", "کوئی", "کوئی-نہیں"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μηδείς, μηδεμίᾰ, μηδέν (i.e. μηδὲ εἷς, μηδὲ μία, μηδὲ ἕν): feminine μηδὲ ἴα or μηδεΐα (or -έϊα) Refs:— not one, not even one, nobody (in neuter nothing), once in Refs 8th c.BC+ __2 μηδὲ εἷς (so written) is found in Attic dialect Inscrr., as Refsnot even one, μηδὲ ἕν Refs 5th c.BC+: frequently with an intervening Particle or preposition, μηδ᾽ ἂν ἕνα Refs 5th c.BC+; μηδ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἑνός, μηδ᾽ ὑπὸ μιᾶς,…