Babel1
[bab-uh l; Russian bah-byil]
- I·saak Em·ma·nu·i·lo·vich [ahy-zuh k; Russian ee-sahk yi-muh-noo-yee-luh-vyich] /ˈaɪ zək; Russian iˈsɑk yɪ mə nuˈyi lə vyɪtʃ/, 1894–1941, Russian author.
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Babel2
[bey-buh l, bab-uh l]
- an ancient city in the land of Shinar in which the building of a tower (Tower of Babel) intended to reach heaven was begun and the confusion of the language of the people took place. Gen. 11:4–9.
- (usually lowercase) a confused mixture of sounds or voices.
- (usually lowercase) a scene of noise and confusion.
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Origin of Babel2
From the Hebrew word Bābhel Babylon
Synonyms
See more synonyms for Babel on Thesaurus.com3. tumult, turmoil, uproar, bedlam, clamor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for babel
Contemporary Examples
Gowan, Donald E. From Eden to Babel: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 1-11.
The Backstory of ‘Noah’ Is Full of Giants, Horny Angels, and a Grieving GodTim Townsend
March 28, 2014
Mumford Sons taking 'a considerable amount of time off' after 'Babel' tour.
We watch Babel beaten, just before his death, in “Lubyanka Prison, Moscow, 1940.”
Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams, The Burning Plain) employs a nonlinear style.
But I recall nothing in Possession, Angels & Insects, Babel Tower, or her other books that seems to presage this one.
Must Reads: Wild Abandon, Ramona Ausubel, A.S. ByattNicholas Mancusi, Jennifer Miller, Allen Barra
March 6, 2012
Historical Examples
This stone was thrown at the sainted Stephen, and the other two are from the Tower of Babel.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
Between its Babel towers narrow Nassau Street was like a canyon.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
"By Babel streams I have sat and wept" almost ever since I wrote you last.
The Letters of Robert BurnsRobert Burns
Marcia entered her mother's sitting-room in the midst of what seemed a babel of voices.
The Coryston FamilyMrs. Humphry Ward
It could scarcely be heard above the Babel of tongues which was sounding.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
Babel1
- Old Testament
- Also called: Tower of Babela tower presumptuously intended to reach from earth to heaven, the building of which was frustrated when Jehovah confused the language of the builders (Genesis 11:1–9)
- the city, probably Babylon, in which this tower was supposedly built
- (often not capital)
- a confusion of noises or voices
- a scene of noise and confusion
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Word Origin
from Hebrew Bābhél, from Akkadian Bāb-ilu, literally: gate of God
Babel2
- Issak Emmanuilovich (iˈsak imənuˈiləvitʃ) 1894–1941, Russian short-story writer, whose works include Stories from Odessa (1924) and Red Cavalry (1926)
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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 babel
Babel
capital of Babylon, late 14c., from Hebrew Babhel (Gen. xi), from Akkadian bab-ilu "Gate of God" (from bab "gate" + ilu "god"). The name is a translation of Sumerian Ka-dingir. Meaning "confused medley of sounds" (1520s) is from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper