Baal

[bey-uh l, beyl]

noun, plural Ba·al·im [bey-uh-lim, bey-lim] /ˈbeɪ ə lɪm, ˈbeɪ lɪm/.

any of numerous local deities among the ancient Semitic peoples, typifying the productive forces of nature and worshiped with much sensuality.

(sometimes lowercase) a false god.

Origin of Baal

From the Hebrew word baʿal lord

Related formsBa·al·ish, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for baalim

Historical Examples of baalim

The cause of the drought was not the menace of Elijah, but the apostasy to Baalim.
The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of Kings
F. W. Farrar
It was because Ahab and his subjects worshiped a false God (Baalim).
The Bible Of Bibles;
Kersey Graves
Should I then fear a King who wants to sell his people to the Baalim?
Master Olof
August Strindberg
The Baalim mostly represented forces of nature—the sun, the stars.
Judges and Ruth
Robert A. Watson
But the lords indicated were Baalim who were Lords of the Sun.
The Lords of the Ghostland
Edgar Saltus

British Dictionary definitions for baalim

Baal

noun

any of several ancient Semitic fertility gods

Phoenician myth the sun god and supreme national deity

(sometimes not capital) any false god or idol

Word Origin for Baal

from Hebrew bá'al lord, master

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for baalim

Baal

"The name of many deities of the Semitic peoples" [Klein], late 14c., Biblical use is from Hebrew Ba'al, literally "owner, master, lord," from ba'al "he took possession of," also "he married;" related to Akkadian Belu (source of Hebrew Bel), name of Marduk. Also related to the first element in Beelzebub. Used figuratively for any "false god."