ὀψ-άριον G3795
Small fish, cooked fish; a diminutive for prepared fish served as a side dish or relish alongside bread.
A diminutive of ὄψον (cooked food, relish), designating a small or prepared fish typically eaten as a side accompaniment to bread. All five occurrences appear in John's Gospel in two feeding contexts. In the feeding of the five thousand, a boy provides five barley loaves and two ὀψάρια (John 6:9, 11). In the post-resurrection lakeside breakfast, Jesus has fish already laid on charcoal (John 21:9), asks the disciples to bring some of their catch (21:10), and serves bread and fish (21:13). The Spanish 'pescaditos' beautifully preserves the diminutive quality, as does French 'petit poisson.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — Small or prepared fish — a diminutive noun denoting fish as food, particularly as a relish or side dish eaten with bread. Distinguished from ἰχθύς (fish as a living creature), ὀψάριον emphasizes the culinary dimension. John uses it in both miracle feedings: the boy's two small fish alongside five loaves (John 6:9, 11), and the charcoal-grilled fish at the resurrection breakfast by the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:9, 10, 13). The diminutive form may suggest modest size or humble fare. The Spanish 'pescaditos' (little fish) and French 'petit poisson' both preserve the diminutive sense that the English 'fish' alone cannot convey. The word's restriction to John may reflect Johannine vocabulary preference. 5×
AR["السَّمَكَ", "السَّمَكِ", "سَمَكًا", "سَمَكِ", "صَغِيرَتَانِ"]·ben["মাছ", "মাছগুলির", "মাছের"]·DE["Fisch"]·EN["fish", "small-fish"]·FR["petit-poisson"]·heb["דָּג", "דָּגִים"]·HI["मछलियाँ;", "मछलियों", "मछलियों,", "मछली", "मछली-को"]·ID["ikan", "ikan-ikan"]·IT["pesce"]·jav["ulam", "ulam,", "ulam;"]·KO["물고기를", "물고기에서도", "생선-도", "생선-이", "생선들-을"]·PT["peixe", "peixes"]·RU["рыб", "рыбки", "рыбок", "рыбу"]·ES["pescaditos", "pescado", "pescados"]·SW["samaki", "samaki-mdogo", "samaki-wadogo"]·TR["balık", "balıklardan", "balıkların", "balığı"]·urd["مچھلی", "مچھلیاں", "مچھلیوں", "مچھلیوں-سے"]
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
ὀψ-άριον, τό, diminutive of ὄψον, Refs 5th c.BC+; λαγύνιον ταριχηροῦ (i.e. -ῶν) ὀψαρίων a jar of pickled fish, NT+1st c.AD+