gehenna
/ɡəˈhɛ.nə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.06 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Gehenna.
name
In rabbinical literature and Christian and Islamic scripture, the place where the souls of the wicked go after death, where they suffer eternal damnation or annihilation.
name
Hell.
name
The valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem.
Example Sentences
- "When I next took an interest in things I found myself lying in the road. The sound of the gang was diminishing into the distance, and the prophet of doom, restored to eloquence, was sending threatful bolts of damnation, hell-fire, and a brimstone gehenna hurtling after them."
- "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Gehenna?"
- "School was Gehenna for the restless student."
- "The people obeyed his commandment, and succeeding ages followed the example, and Gehenna became the general sink of the city, and the receptacle of all its pollutions."
- "By the fifth century C.E., however, confusion about the tradition led to transference of the reputed site of Gehenna to the Kidron Valley, on the eastern side of Jerusalem."
Etymology
Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin gehenna, from Ancient Greek γέεννα (géenna), from Hebrew גֵּיהִנּוֹם (ge'henom, “hell”, literally “valley of Hinnom”), named after the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, which was constantly filled with the waste of the city, which was then burnt. Heinous deeds are also associated with this valley, as during the time when Jerusalem was ruled by non-Jews (referred to in scriptures simply as 'pagans') child sacrifice was practiced there.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: γέεννα, גֵּיהִנּוֹם
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Places.