πρόφᾰσ-ις G4392
pretext, pretense (false reason); excuse, reason (justification)
Senses
1. pretext, pretense (false reason) — A fabricated or insincere reason given to conceal the true motive; a false front or pretense. Multilingual evidence consistently uses terms for deceptive cover: Spanish 'pretexto,' Hindi 'बहाने से' (on pretext), Arabic 'بِحُجَّةٍ' / 'بِذَريعَةٍ' (under pretext/guise), Korean '핑계로' (as pretext), Swahili 'kwa kisingizio' (by pretense). The dative case forms (N-DFS) across both clusters indicate instrumental use — doing something 'under pretense of' or 'by way of pretense,' confirming a unified sense of insincerity or dissimulation. 6×
AR["بِتَظاهُرٍ","بِحُجَّةٍ","بِذَريعَةٍ","ذَريعَةِ"]·ben["অজুহাতে","ছলে","দীর্ঘ","বহানায়"]·DE["Vorwand","προφάσει"]·EN["as-a-pretense","as-pretext","for-a-pretense","in-pretense","on-pretense","pretense"]·FR["prétexte"]·heb["אֲמַתְלָה","בְּ-תוֹאֲנָה","בְּתֹאֲנָה","בְּתוֹאֲנָה","בִּתְחִלָּה","תוֹאֲנַת"]·HI["बहअन","बहअने","बहाने-से","बहानेसे"]·ID["alasan","berpura-pura","dalih","dengan-pura-pura"]·IT["pretesto","prophasei"]·jav["alesan","ing-alesan","kangge-alesan"]·KO["구실로","핑계로"]·PT["com-pretexto","como-pretexto","por-pretexto","pretexto"]·RU["для-вида","напоказ","предлоге","предлогом","притворно"]·ES["con-pretexto","por-pretexto","pretexto"]·SW["kisingizio","kwa-kisingizio","kwa-muda-mrefu"]·TR["bahane","bahaneler","bahaneyle"]·urd["بہانے","بہانے-سے"]
2. excuse, reason (justification) — A reason offered to justify or explain an action, potentially a legitimate excuse rather than a deceptive facade. The accusative case form (N-AFS) here frames prophasis as the direct object — something one has or lacks. Multilingual evidence points to genuine justification rather than dissimulation: Spanish 'excusa,' Hindi 'बहाना' (excuse), Arabic 'عُذْرًا' (excuse/pardon), Korean '핑계를' (excuse as object), Swahili 'udhuru' (excuse/apology). The Arabic 'عُذْرًا' is especially diagnostic, as it means a legitimate excuse rather than a false pretext. 1×
AR["عُذْرًا"]·ben["অজুহাত"]·DE["Vorwand"]·EN["excuse"]·FR["prétexte"]·heb["תִּרוּץ"]·HI["बहाना"]·ID["alasan"]·IT["prophasin"]·jav["alesan"]·KO["핑계를"]·PT["pretexto"]·RU["оправдания"]·ES["excusa"]·SW["udhuru"]·TR["bahane"]·urd["بہانہ"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πρόφᾰσ-ις, εως, ἡ, (προφαίνω) motive or cause alleged, whether truly or falsely: then, actual motive or cause, whether alleged or not: __I alleged motive, plea, without implication of truth or falsity, ἐπὶ σμικρῇ π. Refs 6th c.BC+; καὶ ἐπὶ μεγάλῃ καὶ ἐπὶ βραχείᾳ π. whether the plea put forward be a trifle or a weighty matter, Refs 5th c.BC+; τῆς αἰτίας τὴν π. the plea in the case, the basis of…