aorist
/ˈeɪərɪst/
noun
- A grammatical tense used in some languages (such as Ancient Greek) to describe a simple past action without indicating whether it was ongoing, repeated, or completed.
- The aorist does not exist in English, so translators must use context to convey its meaning.
- When learning Greek verbs, students must memorize the aorist forms separately.
- In Ancient Greek, the aorist is often used for narrating a single event in the past.
adjective
- Relating to or denoting the aorist tense.
- Many textbooks include a special section on aorist verb forms.
- She studied the aorist endings for her Greek exam.
- The aorist participle can be tricky for beginners to identify.