καταλαλιά (katalalia)
katalalia
slander
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun katalalia refers to malicious speech, specifically slander or backbiting. It describes words intended to harm another person’s reputation, carrying a sense of speaking down against someone rather than merely disagreeing with them. The term appears only twice in the New Testament, appearing in Paul’s list of sins in 2 Corinthians 12:20 and Peter’s instructions for Christian conduct in 1 Peter 2:1.
Its meaning is rooted in the verb katalaleō, which combines a prefix suggesting intensity or downward motion with "speech." This creates an image of speaking negatively about someone behind their back. Unlike general criticism, katalalia implies a destructive intent to degrade. Both passages use it to describe behavior that disrupts community harmony and contradicts the call to live peacefully.
Translators typically render this word as "slander" or "evil-speaking," capturing its sharp, damaging quality. The rarity of the term in Scripture highlights how seriously early Christians viewed such speech. It was not seen as harmless gossip but as a serious moral failure that fractured relationships and dishonored God.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word katalalia describes more than simple disagreement or honest feedback. It refers to malicious speech designed to harm another person’s reputation, often spoken behind their back. This kind of gossip creates division and distrust within a community, damaging relationships that Christ intends to heal. Recognizing this pattern in our own hearts is the first step toward restoring peace.
Both Paul and Peter warn against this behavior because it disrupts the harmony believers are called to maintain. When we choose to speak down about others rather than upbuild them, we fracture the unity of the body. Let us instead guard our tongues, choosing words that promote understanding and love, reflecting the character of Christ in every conversation.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- slander,1×
- evil speakings1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- καταλαλιάς,1×
- καταλαλιαί,1×
Key Verses
-
II Corinthians 12:20
For I am afraid that perhaps when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you don’t desire, that perhaps there would be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, whisperings, proud thoughts, or riots,
Paul lists slander alongside strife and jealousy to show how destructive gossip is to church unity.
-
I Peter 2:1
Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking,
Peter places evil speaking alongside deceit and hypocrisy as something believers must actively put away.