behemoth
English
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Behemoth3.jpg/220px-Behemoth3.jpg)
Etymology
From Middle English behemoth, bemoth, from Late Latin behemoth, from Hebrew בהמות (bəhēmōt). The Hebrew word is either:
- an intensive plural of בהמה (bəhēmāh, “beast”), from Proto-Semitic (compare Ge'ez ብህመ (bəhmä, “to be dumb, to be speechless”), Arabic ب ه م (b-h-m)), or
- a borrowing of Egyptian
(*pꜣ-jḥ-mw, “hippopotamus”, literally “the ox of the water”), from pꜣ (“definite article”) + jḥ (“ox, cattle”) + mw (“water”) in a direct genitive construction; for the pronunciation, cf. the later Coptic descendants ⲡ- (p-) + ⲉϩⲉ (ehe) + ⲙⲟⲟⲩ (moou).
Pronunciation
Noun
behemoth (plural behemoths)
- (biblical) A great and mighty beast God shows Job in Job 40:15-24.
- Any great and mighty monster.
- (by extension) Something which has the qualities of great power and might, and monstrous proportions.
- 2011 January 18, Joe Lovejoy, “Cardiff City 0 Stoke City 2”, in Guardian Online[1]:
- The diehards who did turn out were at least rewarded with a first sight of Jon Parkin, the behemoth striker signed from Preston, who scored a stunning goal on his debut at Norwich last weekend.
- 2012, James S. A. Corey, Gods of Risk, →ISBN:
- The wide access corridors passed slowly, the conduits and pipes like the circulatory system of some vast planetary behemoth.
Quotations
- Template:RQ:Authorized Version
- Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
- Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
- 2001, Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl, page 58:
- Next she doused the smouldering troll with the contents of the restaurant's fire extinguisher, hoping the icy powder wouldn't revive the sleeping behemoth.
Derived terms
Translations
mighty beast in the Book of Job
|
mighty monster
something of great size and power
See also
Further reading
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English terms derived from Hebrew
- English terms derived from Proto-Semitic
- English terms derived from Egyptian
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Bible
- English terms with quotations
- en:Mythological creatures
- en:Size