Baal
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
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”).
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbeɪəl/, /ˈbeɪl/, /ˈbɑːl/[1][2]
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈbeɪəl/, /ˈbeɪl/, /ˈbɑːl/, /bɑːˈɑːl/[3][4]
- Rhymes: -eɪəl, -eɪl, -ɑːl
- Homophones: bail, bale; boll (some US speakers); ball, bawl (some US speakers)
Proper noun edit
Baal (countable and uncountable, plural Baals or Baalim)
- (mythology, biblical) A storm and fertility god of the Phoenician and Canaanite pantheons, reckoned as chief of the gods by the 1st millennium BC.
- (mythology, biblical, sometimes lowercase) Various other Baalim, understood as distinct patron gods or as local patron aspects the great god Baal.
- (Christianity) One of the demons or fallen angels of Satan.
Usage notes edit
The latinized spelling and anglicized pronunciation is still used for the expanded senses, but modern scholarship increasingly notes the ayin of the original name by spelling it Baʿal or Ba'al and pronouncing it more in line with the original Hebrew form. Misunderstood as a solar deity by 19th century scholarship; misunderstood as a collective term for various patron gods by 19th and 20th century scholarship prior to the discovery of inscriptions at Ugarit showing these to have been understood as aspects of a single divinity, whose worship gradually supplanted that of El. These aspects are sometimes distinguished by epithets: Baalberith, Beelzebub, Beelzebul, etc.
The Hebraic plural Baalim is particularly used for its appearances in the Bible, where it may refer to gods or idols of the god. The anglicized plural is more common in other contexts.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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References edit
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
First attested as barla around 850. Compound of bar (“barren, bare”) and lo (“light forest”). Compare Baarle-Hertog, Baarle-Nassau, Baarlo, Bahr, Barlo and Hoog-Baarlo.
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Baal n
- A hamlet in Lingewaard, Gelderland, Netherlands.
Derived terms edit
References edit
- van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN
German edit
Etymology edit
From Latin Baal, from Ancient Greek Βάαλ (Báal), from Hebrew בַּעַל (baʿal), from Proto-Semitic *baʿl-.
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Baal m (strong, genitive Baals or (optionally with an article) Baal or Baales, plural Baale or Baalim)
- Baal (Semitic heathen god)
Italian edit
Proper noun edit
Baal m
Anagrams edit
Latin edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Βάαλ (Báal), from Biblical Hebrew בַּעַל (Báʿal), from Proto-Semitic *baʿl-.
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈba.al/, [ˈbäːɫ̪]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈba.al/, [ˈbäːäl]
Proper noun edit
Baal m (indeclinable)
Anagrams edit
Polish edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Baal m pers
- (mythology, biblical) Baal (storm and fertility god of the Phoenician and Canaanite pantheons)
- (figuratively) false god
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- Baal in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Saterland Frisian edit
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Etymology edit
From Old Frisian *bal, from Proto-West Germanic [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *balluz. Cognates include West Frisian bal and German Ball.
The sense "social gathering for dancing" is a semantic loan from German Ball, from French bal.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Baal m (plural Bale)