What does καταγελάω (katageláō) mean in the Bible?
καταγελάω (katageláō): Scornful, contemptuous laughter directed at someone; more intense ridicule than simple mockery.
Greek · G2606
καταγελάω
To mock
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καταγελάω G2606
Pronunciation katageláō
What does καταγελάω (katageláō) mean in the Bible?
καταγελάω (katageláō): Scornful, contemptuous laughter directed at someone; more intense ridicule than simple mockery.
Full entry for καταγελάω (G2606) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2606?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include they laughed at (3).
Where does καταγελάω (katageláō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:24. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (1), Mark (1), Matthew (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It they laughed at 3× Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:40, Luke 8:53
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 9:24
Aligned rows 3
Books represented 3
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 1
Source forms
κατεγέλων 3x kategelōn Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:40, Luke 8:53
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 3x Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:40, Luke 8:53
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Scornful, contemptuous laughter directed at someone; more intense ridicule than simple mockery.
Strong's G2606
Lexical occurrences 3 verses Greek text appearances 3 times Word forms 1 form 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 8:40-56 Source Gloss
to mock
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 9:24 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
κατεγέλων kategelwn
I laugh at, ridicule
Read verse Mark 5:40 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
κατεγέλων kategelwn
I laugh at, ridicule
Read verse Luke 8:53 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
κατεγέλων kategelwn
I laugh at, ridicule
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 3 Tenses Imperfect Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Imperfect Active Matt 9:24 · Mark 5:40 · Luke 8:53 3×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 3 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
imperfect 3
Voice
active 3
Mood
indicative 3
NT Occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Biblical Witnesses
scornful mockery of Jesus by mourners at a ruler's daughter's death
fool's derision and mockery of a wise person in dispute
cruel ridicule and laughter directed at the poor and afflicted
prophetic lament over sustained mockery and scorn from enemies
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain