Babylonian, a. and n.
(bæbɪˈləʊnɪən)
[f. L. Babylōni-us, Gr. βαβυλώνι-ος + -an.]
A. adj. Of or belonging to Babylon; hence fig. a. huge, gigantic; † b. popish (obs.); c. (cf. Rev. xvii. 4) scarlet.
| 1637 Gillespie Eng.-Pop. Cerem. ii. vii. 28 The Babylonian baggage of Antichristian Ceremonies. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 41 The confused jargon of their Babylonian pulpits. 1821 De Quincey Confess. Wks. I. 131 No huge Babylonian centres of commerce towered into the clouds. 1848 Dickens Dombey (1870) I. v. 89 A cocked hat and a Babylonian collar. |
B. n.
1. An inhabitant of Babylon; hence fig. † a. papist (obs.), b. astrologer.
| 1564 Brief Exam. *** iij, We dwell not among the Babilonians and Chaldies. 1677 Gilpin Dæmonol. (1867) 192 For from good bishops..they are become incurable Babylonians. 1795 Southey Lett. fr. Spain (1799) 76 Here the Babylonian [= Romish Church] walks the street in full dress scarlet. |
2. The language of the inhabitants of Babylon.
| 1870 G. C. Swayne Herodotus v. 78 It is in three languages—old Persian, Babylonian, and Scythian. 1888 A. H. Sayce Hittites ii. 23 At that time Babylonian was the international language. |