Babel

¹

[ bab-uhl; Russian bah-byil ]

noun

1. I·saak Em·ma·nu·i·lo·vich [ahy, -z, uh, k, ee-, sahk, yi-m, uh, -noo-, yee, -l, uh, -vyich], 1894–1941, Russian author.

Babel

²

[ bey-buhl, bab-uhl ]

noun

1. (in the Bible) 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.
2. (usually lowercase) a confused mixture of sounds or voices.
3. (usually lowercase) a scene of noise and confusion.

   Synonyms: clamor, bedlam, uproar, turmoil, tumult

Babel

¹

/ ˈbabɪl /

noun

1. BabelIssak Emmanuilovich18941941MRussianWRITING: short-story writer Issak Emmanuilovich (iˈsak imənuˈiləvitʃ) 1894–1941, Russian short-story writer, whose works include Stories from Odessa (1924) and Red Cavalry (1926)

Babel

²

/ ˈbeɪbəl /

noun

1. Old Testament
   1. Also calledTower of Babel a 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)
   2. the city, probably Babylon, in which this tower was supposedly built
2. often not capital
   1. a confusion of noises or voices
   2. a scene of noise and confusion

Other Words From

• Ba·bel·ic [bey-, bel, -ik, ba-], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Babel¹

First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin, from Hebrew Bābhel “Babylon,” from Akkadian bāb-ilim “the gate of the god”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Babel¹

from Hebrew Bābhél , from Akkadian Bāb-ilu , literally: gate of God

Example Sentences

Against a backdrop of magic and lore, Robin slowly begins to realize that serving Babel also may mean forsaking his motherland.

From Time

The Future of TV Briefing this week aims to offer a Tower of Babel for some of the industry’s most prevalent acronyms.

From Digiday

Gowan, Donald E. From Eden to Babel: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 1-11.

From The Daily Beast

Mumford Sons taking 'a considerable amount of time off' after 'Babel' tour.

From The Daily Beast

We watch Babel beaten, just before his death, in “Lubyanka Prison, Moscow, 1940.”

From The Daily Beast

Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams, The Burning Plain) employs a nonlinear style.

From The Daily Beast

After two mostly ignored novels, Shababo spent the rest of her life working in what Isaac Babel called the "genre of silence."

From The Daily Beast

If there is one thing that convinces me that the story of the Tower of Babel is true, it is the names of the towns in Injy.

From Project Gutenberg

They spoke so many different languages that a Babel-like confusion resulted.

From Project Gutenberg

Again Babel burst forth, and riot reigned supreme for five minutes more.

From Project Gutenberg

Nembrot, Nimrod; so that his toures hye refers to the tower of Babel.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a life of great interest, complicated by the Tower of Babel, that old enemy.

From Project Gutenberg