Greek word · G3055

λογομαχία

logomachia

quarrel

Literally "word-battle": a dispute about words or terms, verbal wrangling.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

λογομαχία, -ας, ἡ

(λογομαχέω),

a strife of words: pl., 1 Timothy 6:4.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: Literally "word-battle": a dispute about words or terms, verbal wrangling.
Against the English: "Strifes of words" (KJV), "word-striving" (YLT) and "word battles" (WEB) keep the compound picture. "Disputes about words" (BSB) is accurate but a little tamer than "fight."
Used elsewhere in the period: This is its only New Testament occurrence. It is rare in earlier Greek. The verb logomachein appears in 2 Tim 2:14: "not to quarrel about words, which is of no benefit and only ruins those who listen." Philosophers commonly accused sophists of this kind of hair-splitting contest.

1 Timothy · 1

1 Timothy 6:4 λογομαχίας, disputes about words,

he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,

Here: Literally "word-fights." These are contests over terms and verbal hair-splitting that produce heat but no understanding. The word occurs only here in the New Testament.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.