aorist

[ ey-uh-rist ]

noun

1. a verb tense, as in Classical Greek, expressing action or, in the indicative mood, past action, without further limitation or implication.

adjective

1. of or in this tense.

aorist

/ ˈeɪərɪst; ˈɛərɪst /

noun

1. grammar a tense of the verb in classical Greek and in certain other inflected languages, indicating past action without reference to whether the action involved was momentary or continuous Compare perfect imperfect

Derived Forms

• ˌaoˈristically, adverb
• ˌaoˈristic, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of aorist¹

1575–85; < Greek aóristos unlimited, equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + ( h ) oristós limited ( *horid- (base of horízein to bound, limit; horizon ) + -tos adj. suffix)

Word History and Origins

Origin of aorist¹

C16: from Greek aoristos not limited, from a- ¹+ horistos restricted, from horizein to define

Example Sentences

The perfect seems at first sight out of place, but it is more expressive than the aorist.

From Project Gutenberg

This (observe the aorist ) implies that he brought some money with him from Macedonia to Corinth.

From Project Gutenberg

What if the future be derived from the aorist, instead of the aorist from the future?

From Project Gutenberg

And Cyrus adds that he was whipped for his pains, as we are in our villages for forgetting the first aorist of———.

From Project Gutenberg

In the Mœso-Gothic, however, there was a true reduplicate form; in other words, a perfect tense as well as an aorist.

From Project Gutenberg