Meanings
plural logia
- lifestyleA traditional saying of a religious leader.
It is clear from Origen's wording that he is not referring to a logion of the original Montanist leaders, but to a statement made by later adherents of the New Prophecy. […] The logion is probably authentic.
2006, William Tabbernee, “‘Recognizing the Spirit’: Second-generation Montanist Oracles”, in F. Young, M. Edwards, P. Parvis, editors, Studia Patristica: Papers Presented at the Fourteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies Held in Oxford 2003, volume XL, Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, →ISBN, part VIII (First Two Centuries), page 5251 more example
Influenced by scholarship on the sayings of Jesus and the redaction of the Gospels, [John] Wansbrough assumes that the Qu'rān was edited and constructed from a plethora of short texts that he terms "prophetic logia." These logia draw on monotheistic imagery and are related to forms familiar from the literature of prophetical expression. […] The goal of the critic is to identify these logia by examining the canonical text in which they have been edited and spliced together
2016, Devin J. Stewart, “Wansbrough, Bultmann, and the Theory of Variant Traditions in the Qu’rān”, in Angelika Neuwirth, Michael A[nthony] Sells, editors, Qu’rānic Studies Today (Routledge Studies in the Qu’rān), Abingdon, Oxon.; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 22 - specificallyChristianityA saying that is attributed to Jesus in ancient or reconstructed texts that was (originally) handed down without narrative context.
The Q materials are often thought to have almost exclusively consisted of logia.
3 more examples
The Gospels are evidently independent in their use of their source in the Logia of Matthew; but they all give the logion the same place in their Gospels.
1904, Journal of Biblical Literature, volume 23, [Boston, Mass.]: Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 195It is in this context that the difficult logion in Matthew concerning the eye (vv. 22–23) is to be understood.
2002, Rudolf Schnackenburg, “Jesus’ Proclamation and Works of Healing (4:17–9:34)”, in Robert R. Barr, transl., The Gospel of Matthew, Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 70The central key to unraveling the perplexities of the Thomas gospel is contained basically in the first three logia. According to logion 1, which is actually a statement by the apostle Thomas, not by Jesus, the one who finds the interpretation or meaning of Jesus' secret sayings will not taste of death.
2011, Samuel Zinner, “The Gospel of Thomas: A Contextual Commentary”, in The Gospel of Thomas: In the Light of Early Jewish, Christian and Islamic Esoteric Trajectories: With a Contextualized Commentary and a New Translation of the Thomas Gospel (Matheson Monographs), London: The Matheson Trust for the Study of Comparative Religion, →ISBN, page 261Synonyms: agraphon
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA saying that is attributed to Jesus in ancient or reconstructed texts that was (originally) handed down without narrative context.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*leǵ-“to gather”
- Ancient Greekλόγιον“oracle”
- Englishlogion
] From Ancient Greek λόγιον (lógion, “oracle”), from λόγος (lógos, “word; the word or wisdom of God”) (from λέγω (légō, “I say”), from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather”)) + -ιον (-ion, suffix forming diminutive nouns).
More words from Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech logion
- logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
Danish logion
- logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
French logion
- logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
German Logion
- Logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
Italian logion
- logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
Norwegian Bokmål logion
- logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
Polish logion
- logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
Spanish logion Iesu
- logion Iesua saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
Swedish logion
- logiona saying that is attributed to Jesus but which is not in the Bible
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
logion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/logion
“logion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/logion. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “logion,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/logion.
Source: logion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.