mammon

American  

[mam-uhn] / ˈmæm ən /

noun

1. New Testament. riches or material wealth.

   Synonyms:

   gold, money

2. Often Mammon a personification of riches as an evil spirit or deity.

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mammon ¹ British  

/ ˈmæmən /

noun

1. riches or wealth regarded as a source of evil and corruption

2. avarice or greed

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Mammon ² British  

/ ˈmæmən /

noun

1. New Testament the personification of riches and greed in the form of a false god

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mammon Cultural  

1. A New Testament expression for material wealth, which some people worship as a god. Figuratively, it simply means money.

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Other Word Forms

• mammonish adjective
• mammonism noun
• mammonist noun
• mammonistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of mammon

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, from Late Latin mammona, mammonas, mammon, from Greek mam(m)ōnâs, from Aramaic māmōnā “riches, wealth”

Example Sentences

But there are signs in 2020 that mammon is making a comeback.

From The Guardian • Sep. 13, 2020

A: Some of the most prominent modernist structures are churches and banks, which, in regard to what you are designing for, are almost opposites: God and mammon.

From Washington Post • Aug. 17, 2017

As ever, faith follows mammon, and mammon, faith.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2016

But for Peter Salovey, the president of Yale University, the conference's obsession with the present, and with mammon, is short-sighted.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2016

Walter Map declared the Cistercian creed to be that no man could serve God without mammon.

From Legal Lore Curiosities of Law and Lawyers by Various