Earnest, fervent, or stretched out with intensity. Used in 1 Peter 4:8 to exhort believers to maintain fervent love for one another. Related to Jesus' 'earnest' prayer in Gethsemane (Luke 22:44, adverb form).
Ektenēs comes from ekteinō (to stretch out) — suggesting love that is stretched to its limits, extended beyond the ordinary. Peter commands believers to 'maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins' (1 Peter 4:8). This is not casual affection but strained, effortful, sustained love — love that keeps reaching even when it is hard. Jesus displayed this in Gethsemane, praying ektenesteron (more earnestly, Luke 22:44) as his sweat became like drops of blood.