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Belshazzar

[bel-shaz-er]
noun
  1. a prince of Babylon, son of Nabonidus and co-regent with him, referred to in the Bible as a king of Babylon and son of Nebuchadnezzar. Dan. 5.
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Origin of Belshazzar

< Hebrew Belshaṣṣar < Akkadian Bēl-shar-uṣur may Bel guard the king
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for belshazzar

Historical Examples

  • The summer was devoted to the composition of Belshazzar, for which Jennens had supplied the libretto.

    Handel

    Edward J. Dent

  • The abominations of the banquets of Belshazzar and Cleopatra were re-enacted there.

    Clarimonde

    Thophile Gautier

  • In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

  • It is the same Hand that wrote on the wall the sentence of Belshazzar.

    Broken Bread

    Thomas Champness

  • There was held Belshazzar's feast, and was seen the writing on the wall.

British Dictionary definitions for belshazzar

Belshazzar

noun
  1. 6th century bc, the son of Nabonidus, coregent of Babylon with his father for eight years: referred to as king and son of Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament (Daniel 5:1, 17; 8:1); described as having received a divine message of doom written on a wall at a banquet (Belshazzar's Feast)
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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 belshazzar

Belshazzar

last Chaldean king of Babylon (Dan. v), from Hebrew Belshatztzar, a contraction of Akkadian Bel-shar-usur, literally "Bel-protect-the-king" (see Bel).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper