MOLOCH Definition & Meaning

Moloch

[ moh-lok, mol-uhk ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

(in the Bible) a deity whose worship was marked by the sacrifice of children by their own parents.
anything conceived of as requiring appalling sacrifice:
the Moloch of war.
moloch, a spiny agamid lizard, Moloch horridus, of Australian deserts, that resembles the horned lizard.

Moloch

/ ˈ��əʊ��ɒ��; ˈməʊlɛk /

noun

Old Testament a Semitic deity to whom parents sacrificed their children

moloch

/ ˈ��əʊ��ɒ�� /

noun

a spiny Australian desert-living lizard, Moloch horridus, that feeds on ants: family Agamidae (agamas) Also calledmountain devilspiny lizard

Moloch

A Canaanite idol who demanded the sacrifice of first-born children. The Old Testament prophets railed against the worship of Moloch by the Israelites .

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Notes

Moloch also appears as one of the fallen angels in Milton's Paradise Lost and as a malevolent figure in other allegorical works of literature.

By extension, a “Moloch” is something that has the power to exact extreme sacrifice.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of Moloch¹

From Late Latin, from Greek �ѴǱ�ó��, from Hebrew ��ō��, which has the consonants of melekh “king” and the vowels of ��ō��ٳ� “shame” (caused by idolatry and human sacrifice)

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Will Moloch, the Eater of Children and America's gun god, ever be satisfied with all the human sacrifices to it?

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I don’t quite get the demonic myth that fuels “Moloch”; it’s got biblical roots and has something to do with a hungry female spirit.

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We have to make that offering, out of devotion to our Moloch, our god.

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Like Moloch, the ancient pagan god, Donald Trump is ever ready to demand that Americans sacrifice themselves for his greater good.

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Suddenly, the ghosts of Thomas Malthus and Jeremy Bentham have become priests for the 21st-century Moloch, and have haunted American public conversation about coronavirus.

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