Definition

folly, i.e. (adverbially) to no purpose

Etymology

accusative case of a derivative of the base of G3145 (μασσάομαι) (through the idea of tentative manipulation, i.e. unsuccessful search, or else of punishment);

Where the KJV renders it

• in vain

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Greek term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.