Baal
/ˈbeɪəl/ proper noun, noun
Forms Baals Baalim Baʿal Ba'al Baʻl
- proper noun (mythology, biblical) A storm and fertility god of the Phoenician and Canaanite pantheons, reckoned as chief of the gods by the 1st millennium BC.
- proper noun (mythology, biblical, sometimes lowercase) Various other Baalim, understood as distinct patron gods or as local patron aspects the great god Baal.
- proper noun (Christianity) One of the demons or fallen angels of Satan.
- noun A false deity or idol.
- noun (obsolete, derogatory) A Catholic or Orthodox icon of a saint.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Late Latin Baal (as in the Vulgate) and Ancient Greek Βάαλ (Báal); from Hebrew בַּעַל (bá`al, “lord, husband, owner”), Phoenician 𐤁𐤏𐤋 (bʿl, “lord, master, owner”) and Ugaritic 𐎁𐎓𐎍 (baʿlu, “lord, owner”), all from Proto-Semitic *baʿl- (“owner, lord, husband”).
From Baal.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Heb. ba'al lord.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Baal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details