Quick Definition
ἐπαινέω v. I praise, commend
Strong's Definition
from 1909 and 134; to applaud
KJV Usage: commend, laud, praise
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
verb | aor. ἐῄνεσα | αἰνέω
33.354 · Communication · Praise
to praise, praise to speak of the excellence of a person, object, or event In a number of languages praise can only be expressed by direct discourse, and this requires some content which provides the basis for praise. For example, in LUK 2:13 instead of a literal rendering of ‘praising God,’ it may be necessary to have ‘they said, God is wonderful,’ and in LUK 16:8 it may be necessary to translate ‘the master of this dishonest manager said, You are remarkable for having done such a clever thing.’
LUK 16:8 · ROM 15:11 · 1CO 11:2 · 1CO 11:17 · 1CO 11:22 · 1CO 11:22
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
ἐπ-αινέω, -@; fut. ἐπαινέσω (1 Co. xi. 22, for the more com. ἐπαινέσομαι, cf. W. 86 (82) ; [B. 53 (46)]; L txt. Tr mre. ἐπαινῶ) ; 1 aor. ἐπήνεσα;; (ἔπαινος) ; fr. Hom. down; Sept. for 5m and maw; to approve, to praise, (with the ἐπί cf. Germ. be- in beloben [Passow 8. v. ἐπί, IV. C. 3 cc.]) : τινά, Ro. xv. 11; 1 Co. xi. 22; τινά, foll. by ὅτε [ef. W. § 30, 9 b.], Lk. xvi. 8; 1 Co. xi. 2; absol., foll. by ὅτι, 1 Co. xi. 17.
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
ἐπαινέω epaineō 6x
to praise, commend, applaud, Lk. 16:8; Rom. 15:11; 1 Cor. 11:2, 17, 22 (2x)*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
ἐπ-αινέω, -ῶ
[in LXX for הָלַל pi., שָׁבַח pi. ;]
to praise: c. acc, Ro 15:11, I Co 11:22; seq. ὅτι, Lk 16:8, I Co 11:2; absol., seq. ὅτι, I Co 11:17.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
ἐπαινέω. Syll 1τ0253 (B.c. 290-87) καὶ] ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις ἐπείνεκε (for form see Meisterhans Gr. p. 171) καὶ ἐστεφάνωκεν αὐτὸν ὁ δῆμος [οὐθὲν ἐλλείποντα] σπουδῆς πρὸς τὴν πόλιν, Magn 115* 13 (ii/A.p.) ὅτι μὲν γὰ[ρ τ]ὴν ἐμὴν ἐκπονεῖς [γ]ῆν . .. ἐπαι[ν]ῶ σὴν πρόθεσιν. According to Meisterhans Gy. p. 211 the construction with the acc. prevails from B.C. 350: previous to that the verb is found also with the dative. For the constr. in Lk 16% with the acc. of the person and the gen. of the thing we may compare /4/Ae iil. 910 Θ. τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα... στοργῆς καὶ καλοκἀγαθίας ἧς ἔσχεν is ἐμὲ ἀφηρόϊσεν (‘canonized as a hero”). In P Eleph 134 (B.c. 223-2) ἐγὼ οὖν ἐπυνθανόμην τοῦ Lavaros, εἴ τι βούλοιτο ἐν τοῖς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς τόποις, ὁ δὲ ἐπήινει μόνον, ἐπέταξεν δ᾽ οὐθέν, ἐπήινει is—‘* approbabat,” *‘ assentiebatur,” almost = ‘‘thanked me,” ‘‘said he was obliged” (cf. the classical formula, κάλλιστ᾽ ἐπαινῶ), a sense which apparently does not occur elsewhere in the papyri: see Witkowski’s note, £//.2, p. 43. MGr παινῶ retains the meaning ‘‘ praise.” ” ETTALVOC. Rouffiac (Recherches, p. 49) aptly illustrates the use of this common noun in Phil 11! from /Przexe 199° (beginning of i/B.C.) μεγίστου té]Tevxev ἐπαίνου καὶ δόξης ἀτα[ράκτου, and in 1 Pet 17 from 26. 5315 (ii/B.c.) ἀξίως ἐπαίνου καὶ τιμῶν ποιεῖσθαι τὰς κρίσεις. The word is MGr.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
ἐπαινέω (epaineō) — to praise. ἐπαιν-έω, Aeolic dialect ἐπαίνημι [Refs 4th c.BC+]; Laconian dialect ἐπαινίω [Refs 5th c.BC+]imperfect ἐπῄνεον Il [Refs]: future -έσω[Refs 7th c.BC+]: but more frequently -έσομαι[Refs 5th c.BC+] poetry -ήσω [Refs 6th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ἐπῄνεσα [Refs 8th c.BC+]: also Aeolic dialect prose, [Refs]: perfect ἐπῄνεκα [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, aorist ἐπῃνησάμην [Refs 4th c.AD+]; -εσάμην [Refs 3rd c.BC+]:—passive, future ἐπαινεθήσομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+] codices: aorist ἐπῃνέθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἐπῄνημαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—approve, applaud, commend, in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: with dative person, agree with, side with, Ἕκτορι μὲν γὰρ ἐπῄνησαν [Refs 8th c.BC+]: absolutely, assent, agree, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπαινεσάντων δ᾽ αὐτῶν on their assent, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
2. praise, commend in any way (the usually sense in Attic dialect and Trag.), τινά or τι, [Refs 7th c.BC+]; ἐ. τινά τι commend one for a thing, but in this case the thing is always a neuter pronoun or adjective, τὰ μέν σ᾽ ἐπαινῶ [Refs 5th c.BC+] ἐπαινεῖσθαι ταῖς ζητήσεσιν, [ἐπί] should be read; ἐπί τινι.. καὶ διότι [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; εἴς τι [Refs 5th c.BC+] praise something in some one, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: with participle, ἐπαινέσεσθαί τινα ἀνασχόμενον [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐ. τινὰ πρός τινα praise one man to another, [Refs]; especially compliment publicly, [Βρασίδας] πρῶτος τῶν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἐπῃνέθη ἐν Σπάρτῃ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently in honorary Inscrr.,[Refs 2nd c.BC+]
3. of things, [πολιτεία] ὑπὸ πάντων -ουμένη [Refs 5th c.BC+]; approve, πόλις ἄλλως ἄλλοτ᾽ ἐ. τὰ δίκαια [Refs 4th c.BC+]
4. agree to or undertake to do, ῥώμην μ᾽ ἐπαινῶ λαμβάνειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]
5. aorist ἐπῄνεσα in Attic dialect in present sense, ἐπῄνεσ᾽ ἔργον I commend it, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, well done! [Refs 5th c.BC+]
II. ={παραινέω}, recommend, advise, τοιούσδ᾽ ἐπαινεῖς δῆτα δὺ κτᾶσθαι φίλου; [Refs 5th c.BC+]: with dative et infinitive, ὑμῖν δ᾽ ἐπαινῶ γλῶσσαν εὔφημον φέρειν [Refs]; σιγᾶν ἐπῄνεσ᾽[Refs 5th c.BC+]
III. as a civil form of declining an offer or invitation, I thank you, I am much obliged, κάλλιστ᾽, ἐπαινῶ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so ἐ. τὴν κλῆσιν decline it, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
IV. of Rhapsodists, recite, declaim publicly, [Refs 5th c.BC+]