Belshazzar

[bel-shaz-er]

noun

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.

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 of belshazzar

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.
The Ontario High School Reader
A.E. Marty
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.
Museum of Antiquity
L. W. Yaggy

British Dictionary definitions for belshazzar

Belshazzar

noun

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)

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).