Greek word · G4068

περπερεύομαι

perpereuomai

to boast

To behave as a perperos, a braggart, windbag or show-off. To boast, to put yourself on display, to make a show of yourself.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

περπερεύοραι

(περπερος, vainglorious)

to boast or vaunt oneself: 1 Corinthians 13:4 (elsewhere. only in Antonin.; see Abbott, Essays, 87).†

(AS)

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

In depth

From the study of 1 Corinthians 13:4

Range of meaning

To behave as a perperos, a braggart, windbag or show-off. To boast, to put yourself on display, to make a show of yourself.

Against the English

"Vaunteth not itself" (KJV), "doth not vaunt itself" (YLT), "does not boast" (BSB, NIV), "does not brag" (WEB, NASB). "Brag" keeps the colloquial, slightly scornful tone better than the more neutral "boast".

Used elsewhere in the period

Found only here in the New Testament and absent from the Septuagint. The adjective perperos is used by Greek writers such as Polybius for vain, showy people. The verb also appears in the later Stoic writer Marcus Aurelius (Meditations 5.5) in a list of vices to avoid.

Where it appears

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 13:4 περπερεύεται, is boastful,

    Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

    Here: To act the windbag or braggart: talking yourself up and putting yourself on display. It is a rare, colourful word found only here in the New Testament.

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