mammon

American  

[mam-uhn] / ˈmæm ən /

noun

1. New Testament. riches or material wealth.

   Synonyms:

   gold, money

2. Often Mammon a personification of riches as an evil spirit or deity.

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Mammon ¹ British  

/ ˈmæmən /

noun

1. New Testament the personification of riches and greed in the form of a false god

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mammon ² British  

/ ˈmæmən /

noun

1. riches or wealth regarded as a source of evil and corruption

2. avarice or greed

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mammon Cultural  

1. A New Testament expression for material wealth, which some people worship as a god. Figuratively, it simply means money.

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Other Word Forms

• mammonish adjective
• mammonism noun
• mammonist noun
• mammonistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of mammon

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, from Late Latin mammona, mammonas, mammon, from Greek mam(m)ōnâs, from Aramaic māmōnā “riches, wealth”

Example Sentences

A: Some of the most prominent modernist structures are churches and banks, which, in regard to what you are designing for, are almost opposites: God and mammon.

From Washington Post • Aug. 17, 2017

As ever, faith follows mammon, and mammon, faith.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2016

But for Peter Salovey, the president of Yale University, the conference's obsession with the present, and with mammon, is short-sighted.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2016

Big-time directors and the studios that bankroll them prefer to dwell in the comfortable, familiar center, where mammon is God and the only divine word comes from focus groups.

From Time • Mar. 27, 2014

But still,” she added in a low voice, “we have the authority of scripture to make friends even of the mammon of unrighteousness.”

From Hansford: A Tale of Bacon's Rebellion by Tucker, St. George