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);

Word family

• μασσάομαι massáomai

How 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.