Tophet

American  

[toh-fit, -fet] / ˈtoʊ fɪt, -fɛt /

Or Topheth

noun

Bible.

1. a place in the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where, contrary to the law, children were offered as sacrifices, especially to Moloch. It was later used as a dumping ground for refuse.

2. the place of punishment for the wicked after death; hell.

3. some place, condition, etc., likened to hell.

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Tophet British  

/ ˈtəʊfɛt /

noun

1. Old Testament a place in the valley immediately to the southwest of Jerusalem; the Shrine of Moloch, where human sacrifices were offered

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Etymology

Origin of Tophet

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, ultimately derived from Hebrew tōpheth a placename

Example Sentences

A domain larger than Belgium, wilder than Abyssinia, more visited than Rome, colder than Moose Factory and hotter than Tophet, a fabulously scenic empire scattered over half a continent, quietly changed hands last week.

From Time Magazine Archive

Indeed, they were such good haters that Tophet and everlasting enmity were the bane and doom 17 they would have unhesitatingly chosen for their enemies.

From Prisoners of Conscience by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston

No, we are not nearing Tophet, Any more than we are touching realms Elysian.

From Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 98 June 7, 1890 by Various

To Davis, between wind and water, his mythology appeared to have come alive and Tophet to be vomiting demons.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25) The Ebb-Tide; Weir of Hermiston by Stevenson, Robert Louis

Black smoke as of Tophet filling all your universe, it can yet by true heart-energy become flame, and brilliancy of heaven.

From Life Without and Life Within or, Reviews, Narratives, Essays, and poems. by Fuller, Margaret