Greek word · G3365

μηδαμῶς

mēdamōs

surely not

'In no way, by no means, certainly not.' An emphatic refusal or denial, used especially to reply to a command or suggestion.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

μηδαμῶς

(= μηδαμῆ, -δαμά, adv. fr. μηδαμός = μηδείς) [in LXX chiefly for הָלִלָה, הָלילָה ;]

by no means, not at all. μ., Κύριε (sc. τοῦτο γένοιτο), Acts 10:14 11:8.†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: 'In no way, by no means, certainly not.' An emphatic refusal or denial, used especially to reply to a command or suggestion.
Against the English: KJV and WEB 'Not so' sounds mild today. ESV and NASB 'By no means' is accurate but stiff. NIV 'Surely not' sounds more like surprise than refusal. BSB and NLT 'No' is plain but loses the emphasis.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament it appears only here and in the retelling at Acts 11:8. In the Greek Old Testament, Ezekiel 4:14 reads 'Μηδαμῶς, κύριε θεὲ τοῦ Ισραηλ' ('By no means, Lord God of Israel!') when God tells the prophet to bake his bread over dung. Ezekiel goes on to say that no defiled meat has ever entered his mouth. Genesis 18:25 and 44:7, 17 use it for 'far be it'.

Range of meaning: An emphatic negative: 'by no means, not at all, certainly not'. It occurs only here and in Acts 10:14 in the New Testament.
Against the English: KJV and WEB: 'Not so'. ESV and NASB: 'By no means'. NIV: 'Surely not'. BSB: 'No'. BSB's plain 'No' loses some of the force and loses the literary echo.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Greek Old Testament of Ezekiel 4:14 has Ezekiel answer God's command to bake his bread over human dung with 'Mēdamōs, kyrie...', and the same verse goes on: 'nor has any foul meat entered into my mouth.' The wording in Acts 11:8 follows this closely: mēdamōs, kyrie, plus food 'entering my mouth'.

Acts · 2

Acts 10:14 μηδαμῶς, In no way,

“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

Here: A forceful, whole-hearted refusal: 'Absolutely not!' It is the same word the Greek Old Testament puts in Ezekiel's mouth when God tells him to eat defiled bread (Ezek 4:14), so Peter is sounding like a prophet protesting against impurity.
Acts 11:8 μηδαμῶς, In no way,

‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

Here: A strong, flat refusal: 'absolutely not'. It is the same word the prophet Ezekiel used in the Greek Old Testament when God told him to eat defiled food (Ezek 4:14). Peter answers in a prophet's words of refusal.

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