Pl. logia. [Gr. λόγιον oracle, f. λόγ-ος word.] A traditional maxim of a religious teacher or sage. Chiefly used with reference to the sayings of Jesus contained in the collections supposed by some to have been among the sources of our present Gospels, or to sayings attributed to Jesus but not recorded in the Gospels.
[1587. Golding, De Mornay, vi. 62. Marke what we finde in their sayings gathered by men of olde time, which are commonly called Logia, that is to say, Oracles.]
1875. M. Arnold, God of the Bible, vi. 321. The logion … is given by two out of the three Synoptics. Ibid. The logia of the Fourth Gospel.
1879. E. A. Abbott, in Encycl. Brit., X. 815/2. It may imply that he [Papias], as others had done, wrote an interpretation of the ‘Logia,’ accompanied by comments and by supplementary traditions.
1887. H. R. Haweis, Light of Ages, I. i. 43. Its [Buddhism’s] sacred books consisting of the words of Buddha and his exploits, the Logia and the Acta.
1889. A. B. Bruce, Kingd. God, x. 235. The authenticity of this logion has been called in question.
