Babel
/ˈbeɪbəl/
noun
Origin
Akkadian
Bāb-ili — gate of God
Overview
Meaning Now
- A scene of noise and confusion resulting from a mixture of languages or people.
- In the Bible, the city where the Tower of Babel was built, traditionally associated with the confusion of tongues.
Literal older meaning
gate of God
Language path
Akkadian → Hebrew → English
Earliest form
Bāb-ili
Earliest period
11th century BCE
Journey
The Tower of Babel story in Genesis describes a time when humanity spoke one language and attempted to build a tower reaching the heavens. God thwarted this by confusing their languages, forcing them to scatter. The word became synonymous with linguistic diversity and chaotic noise.
Evolution
- Akkadian
Bāb-ili
“gate of God”
Compound of bāb (gate) and ilu (god).
- Biblical Hebrew
Bābel
“confusion; Babylon”
A folk etymology related to the Hebrew root bālal (to confuse).
- Middle English
Babel
“the city of confusion”
Introduced via Biblical translation.
- Modern English
babel
“a chaotic noise of voices”
Common noun usage evolved from the proper noun.
Connections
Related across languages
Hebrew
Bābel
Babylon
Arabic
Bābil
Babylon
Related words
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.