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John 18:3


113

Strongs Greek #4686, σπεῖρα (speira), anything wound up or coiled. "Cohort" "Band of soldiers", etc. are meanings "by extension" of the word.

a. Latin spira; anything rolled into a circle or ball, anything wound, rolled up, folded together.

b. a military cohort

(Thayers Greek Lexicon)

A word related to the English word "spiral." Both words ultimately derive from the same Indo-European root *sper- meaning "to turn" or "to twist." In Greek, "σπεῖρα" (speira) originally referred to a coil or twist of rope, and over time, it came to be used metaphorically to describe a group of people gathered or organized together, possibly in a circular or coiled formation.