The Greek noun dipsos refers to physical thirst — the bodily craving for water. Paul uses it in the context of apostolic hardship to describe the extreme physical conditions of his ministry.
Dipsos appears in 2 Corinthians 11:27, where Paul catalogs the physical sufferings he endured for the sake of the Gospel: 'I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.' This bare word — thirst — carries the weight of genuine physical deprivation. It stands in contrast to the superficial 'prosperity' theology of Paul's critics. Yet Jesus himself knew thirst (John 19:28), and His cry 'I thirst' from the cross fulfilled Scripture. Physical thirst becomes a window into the depths of both apostolic sacrifice and Christ's atoning suffering.