Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

A.oppressed by toils, πονηρότατος καὶ ἄριστος, of Heracles, Hes.Frr.138,139.

2. of things, toilsome, painful, grievous, “ἔργα” Hom.Epigr.14.20; “νούσων πονηρότερον” Thgn. 274; “φορτίον” Ar.Pl.352.

II. in bad case, in sorry plight, useless, good-for-nothing, σύμμαχοι ib.220, cf. Nu.102; “στράτευμα” X.An.3.4.34; “ἰατρός” Antipho 4.2.4 (v.l. for μοχθηρός）; κύων, ἱππάριον, Pl. Euthd.298d, X.Cyr.1.4.19; δίαιτα, τροφή, σιτία, injurious, Pl.R.425e, Lg.735b, Grg.464d, etc.; “π. ἕξις σώματος” Id.Ti.86e; π. σῶμα, opp. χρηστόν, Id.Prt.313a, cf.R.341e; π. σκώμματα sorry jests, Ar.Nu.542; “π. βούλευμα” Id.Lys.517 (Comp.); π. πράγματα a bad state of things, Th.8.97, cf. 24; π. ἀρχὴ τῆς παιδείας a bad beginning, Aeschin.1.11; “π. τὴν ϝαυτιλίαν ναυτίλλεσθαι” Pl.R.551c; “π. πολιτεία” Arist.Pol. 1294b38. Adv., -ρῶς ἔχειν to be in bad case, Th.7.83, etc.; “ἂ πονηρῶς ἔχει τῶν πραγμάτων” Lys.14.35; π. διακεῖσθαι, διατεθῆναι, Isoc. 19.12, D.59.55.

III. in moral sense, worthless, knavish, φήμη, βίος, ζόη, A.Ch.1045, Frr.90,401, etc.; “οὐδεὶς ἑκὼν π.” Epich.78; “π. ἦθος” Democr.192; πονηρὸς . . κἀκ πονηρῶν rogue and son of rogues, Ar.Eq. 336-7; ὦ πόνῳ πονηρέ in a comic jingle, Id.V.466, cf. Lys.350; π. πόρρω τέχνης past master in knavery, Id.V.192; “π. τοῖς φίλοις” X.Cyr.8.4.33; “πρὸς ἀλλήλους” Id.An.7.1.39; “π. λόγων ἀκρίβεια” Antipho 3.3.3; “πονηρότεροι σύμβουλοι” Id.5.71; π. [ῥῆμα] malicious, Ev.Matt.5.11; “τὰ π.” wickednesses, X.Cyr.2.2.25; “πονηρὰ δρᾶσαι” E.Hec.1190; “τὸ π.” LXX De.17.2; δόλῳ πονηρῷ, Lat. dolo malo, SIG693.6 (Methymna, ii B.C.); ὁ π. the evil one, Ev.Matt.13.19; “π. δαίμων” PLips.34.8 (iv A.D.), etc.

2. base, cowardly, S.Ph.437, etc.; π. χρώματα, i.e. the coward's hue, X.Cyr.5.2.34 (interpol.).

3. with a political connotation, of the baser sort, E.Supp.424; “οἱ λεγόμενοι π.” Pl.R.519a; opp. καλοὶ κἀγαθοί, Isoc.15.100,316, cf. Ar.Eq.186.—On the variation of accent, πονηρός and πόνηρος, v. μοχθηρός fin.