tophet
/ˈtoʊfɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.53 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A location near Jerusalem in the valley of Gehenna where children were burned alive as sacrifice.
noun
A Carthaginian monument associated with a cemetery for ritually sacrificed children.
Example Sentences
- "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart."
- "In this Tophet, they commonly immolated their little children, and sometimes men of more yeers than discretion […]"
- "But already is the day of their avengement begun; the hero is at length arisen who shall send all such as bear enmity to the true Church, or trust in works of their own, to Tophet!"
- "“Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going."
- "They are an important factor indicating a corpus of beliefs common to the important central colonies (Carthage, Sousse, Motya, Sulcis, Nora, Tharros), where tophets and accompanying grave stelae have been found."
Etymology
Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew תֹּפֶת (tôp̄eṯ).
Word Breakdown
- Root: תופת
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtoʊfɪt/
- British English: /ˈtəʊfɪt/