moloch
/ˈmoʊlɑk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.42 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
An ancient Ammonite deity worshiped by the Canaanites, Phoenician and related cultures in North Africa and the Levant, often depicted with the head of a bull.
noun
Any of species Moloch horridus of Australian lizards, sole species of the genus Moloch.
Example Sentences
- "[W]e can't without wonder remember that horrid Invention projected in this place, but thanks be to God diſappointed, wherein there was not Reverence to the ſacred Bones of Princes, but all were at one blaſt to be offer'd up to Moloch."
- "They [bankers] would do what has been done by the Bank of France—buy bullion at a premium, on the approach of danger, and keep peril at a safe and respectable distance. Any expenditure that might be incurred for that purpose would be small indeed when contrasted with the immense loss and suffering caused by the present system, and the continual fear in which the public now live of some new crisis—because it has been out of one and into another for a long period now; and that will be the case hereafter, until we have no interval to gather strength, and recruit for the next struggle with Mammon, or Moloch, or whatever other name of evil import belongs to the "Tutelarity" of Lombard-street and its precincts."
- "[…] poor Johnny Tetterby staggering under his Moloch of an infant, the Juggernaut that crushes all his enjoyments."
Etymology
From the Proto-Semitic *malk- (“king”). The figurative sense derives from the Old Testament, in which it is alleged that the cult of Moloch involved the sacrifice of human children.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *malk-, מולך
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmoʊlɑk/
- British English: /ˈməʊlɒk/