Bab·y·lon 1 (b b  -ln, -l n ) The capital of ancient Babylonia in Mesopotamia on the Euphrates River. Established as capital c. 1750 b.c. and rebuilt in regal splendor by Nebuchadnezzar II after its destruction (c. 689 b.c.) by the Assyrians, Babylon was the site of the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. |
| Bab·y·lon 2 (bb-ln, -ln) n. 1. A city or place of great luxury, sensuality, and often vice and corruption. 2. A place of captivity or exile. |
Babylon [ˈbæbɪlən]
n
1. (Placename) the chief city of ancient Mesopotamia: first settled around 3000 bc See also Hanging Gardens of Babylon
2. (Christianity / Protestantism) Derogatory (in Protestant polemic) the Roman Catholic Church, regarded as the seat of luxury and corruption
3. (Sociology) Derogatory any society or group in a society considered as corrupt or as a place of exile by another society or group, esp White Britain as viewed by some West Indians
[via Latin and Greek from Hebrew Bābhel; see Babel]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  Babylon - the chief city of ancient Mesopotamia and capital of the ancient kingdom of BabyloniaHanging Gardens of Babylon - a terraced garden at Babylon watered by pumps from the Euphrates; construction attributed to Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC Babel, Tower of Babel - (Genesis 11:1-11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another Babylonian - the ideographic and syllabic writing system in which the ancient Babylonian language was written Mesopotamia - the land between the Tigris and Euphrates; site of several ancient civilizations; part of what is now known as Iraq Babylonia, Chaldaea, Chaldea - an ancient kingdom in southern Mesopotamia; Babylonia conquered Israel in the 6th century BC and exiled the Jews to Babylon (where Daniel became a counselor to the king) Adad - Babylonian god of storms and wind Adapa - a Babylonian demigod or first man (sometimes identified with Adam) Anshar - the Babylonian father of the gods; identified with Assyrian Ashur; in Sumerian the name signifies `the totality of the upper world' Antum - Babylonian consort of Anu Anu - Babylonian god of the sky; one of the supreme triad including Bel and Ea Anunnaki, Enuki - any of a group of powerful Babylonian earth spirits or genii; servitors of the gods Ishtar, Mylitta - Babylonian and Assyrian goddess of love and fertility and war; counterpart to the Phoenician Astarte Bel - Babylonian god of the earth; one of the supreme triad including Anu and Ea; earlier identified with En-lil Damgalnunna, Damkina - (Babylonian) earth goddess; consort of Ea and mother of Marduk Girru - the Babylonian god of fire; often invoked in incantations against sorcery Gula - the Babylonian goddess of healing and consort of Ninurta Kishar - Babylonian consort of Anshar; in Sumerian the name signifies `the totality of the lower world' Nina - the Babylonian goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea Ningirsu - Babylonian god in older pantheon: god of war and agriculture Ningishzida - an underworld Babylonian deity; patron of medicine Ninib, Ninurta - a solar deity; firstborn of Bel and consort was Gula; god of war and the chase and agriculture; sometimes identified with biblical Nimrod Shamash - the chief sun god; drives away winter and storms and brightens the earth with greenery; drives away evil and brings justice and compassion |
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