Quick Definition
διατροφή, ῆς, ἡ n.f. nourishment, food
Strong's Definition
from a compound of 1223 and 5142; nourishment
KJV Usage: food
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, f. | -ῆς | τρέφω
5.1 · Foods and Condiments · Food
food any kind of food or nourishment Almost all languages have at least a few general terms for food, though these may be derived from verbal expressions meaning essentially ‘that which is eaten.’ In some instances a distinction may be made between ‘that which is chewed’ and ‘that which is drunk,’ and it may therefore be important in certain contexts to speak of food in general by a phrase meaning ‘that which is either chewed or drunk.’ If one fails to include both types of food, the reader might interpret a passage such as MAT 6:11 as requesting only solid foods.
In the place of a general term or phrase such as ‘that which is eaten’ or ‘that which is consumed,’ some languages generalize the meaning of a particular term. For example, in certain parts of the Orient the term meaning specifically ‘rice’ also refers to ‘food’ in general. In fact, some persons will declare, ‘I have not eaten!’ if they have not had rice as part of a meal. A similar type of meaning has developed in English with respect to ‘bread.’ For example, in rendering LUK 4:4 (οὐκ ἐπ’ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ‘man shall not live by bread alone’) it would be wrong to employ a strictly literal rendering, since this might mean simply that people should not live on a diet consisting solely of bread. The meaning of LUK 4:4 is, of course, ‘to live means more than merely eating.’
1 There are no doubt certain subtle differences of meaning in the various terms listed here as meaning ‘food,’ but it is impossible to determine such distinctions in meaning from NT contexts. Perhaps τροφή and διατροφή are somewhat more generic in meaning and may suggest a greater emphasis upon nourishment (see footnote b). At the same time, βρῶσις[c] and βρῶμα[a] may imply solid substantive food, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to argue for such subtle connotative distinctions in meanings which are essentially generic. 2 1TI 6:8 It is possible that τροφή and διατροφή focus primarily upon the meaning of food as nourishment, and in 1TI 6:8 and MAT 10:10 it would be perfectly appropriate to use a translation meaning ‘nourishment’ rather than merely ‘food.’
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
δια-τροφή, -ῆς, 7, (διατρέφω to support), sustenance : 1 Tim. vi. 8. (Xen. vect. 4, 49; Menand. ap. Stob. floril. 61, 1 [vol. ii. 386 ed. Gaisf.]; Diod. 19, 32; Epict. ench. 12; Joseph. antt. 2, 5,7; 4, 8,21; often in Plut.; 1 Mace. vi. 49.)
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
διατροφή diatrophē 1x
food, sustenance, 1 Tim. 6:8*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
** δια-τροφή, ῆς, ἡ
(< διατρέφω, to support, sustain), [in LXX: I Mac 6:49 * ;]
food, nourishment: I Ti 6:8.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
διατροφή is found, as in τ Tim 68, in P Oxy IT. 275} (a contract of apprenticeship—a.D. 66) εἰς λόγον διατροφῆς δραχμὰς πέντε, “on account of his keep five drachmas,” III. 4947® (a will = a.p. 156) ἢ δ᾽ αὐτὴ γυνή pov χορηγήσει τῷ υἱῷ μου Δείῳ εἰς δ[ι]α[τρο]φὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην δαπάνην kth., “τὴν said wife shall supply to my son Dius for his sustenance and other expenses” etc. (Edd.), 74. 497° (a marriage contract—early ii/A.D.) χορηγείτω ὃ αὐτὸς Θέων τοῖς τέκνοις τὰ πρὸς τὴν διατροφήν, BGU I. 3217 (A.v. 216) τὰ εἰς διατροφὴν ἀποκείμενα σειτάρια, etc. For the verb, as in Judith 52°, cf. P Oxy IIT. 638 (A.p. 112) ἐπὶ τὸν τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῆς χρόνον ἐφ᾽ ὃν καὶ διατρέφειν ἡμᾶς αὐτήν.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
διατροφή (diatrophē) — food. διατροφή, ἡ, sustenance and support, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τῷ τέρατι [the Minotaur] πρὸς διατροφὴν κατασκευάσαι λαβύρινθον [Refs 1st c.BC+]: plural, means of subsistence, [NT]