Babel

¹ American  

[bab-uhl, bah-byil] / ˈbæb əl, ˈbɑ byɪl /

noun

1. Isaak Emmanuilovich 1894–1941, Russian author.

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Babel ² American  

[bey-buhl, bab-uhl] / ˈbeɪ bəl, ˈbæb əl /

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

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Babel ¹ British  

/ ˈbeɪbəl /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. Also called: Tower 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

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Babel ² British  

/ ˈbabɪl /

noun

1. 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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Other Word Forms

• Babelic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Babel

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

Example Sentences

Like “Babel,” which relied on Kuang’s knowledge of linguistics, “Katabasis” is rich and textured because of her knowledge of the subject, her deep familiarity with its shape and philosophy.

From Los Angeles Times

It would be a little bit of a tower of Babel, with different astronomers saying different things.

From Salon

“The grocery store has become a Tower of Babel and consumers need to be linguists, scientists and mind readers to understand the many labels they see.”

From Salon

Most recently, the cardinal held a conference called The Synodal Babel in Rome on the eve of the Pope's synod, or meeting of bishops, last month.

From BBC

One publication, Babel, cited an unidentified source who said Budanova had been in hospital, and was finishing a course of treatment for the effects of the poisoning.

From Reuters