See also: Biblical

English

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

From Medieval Latin biblicus +‎ -al, equivalent to bible +‎ -ical.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈbɪblɪkəl/
    • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

edit

biblical (comparative more biblical, superlative most biblical)

  1. Of or relating to the Bible.
    Tithing is both a quranic and biblical virtue.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.
  2. In accordance with the teachings of the Bible (according to some interpretation of it).
    biblical morality
    The biblical teaching is that…
    • 2023 February 16, Chris McGreal, quoting Mike Pompeo, “Pompeo says Israel has biblical claim to Palestine and is ‘not an occupying nation’”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
      Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, has defended Israel’s decades-long control of the Palestinian territories by claiming that the Jewish state has a biblical claim to the land and is therefore not occupying it.
  3. (figurative) Very great; especially, exceeding previous records in scale.
    of biblical proportions
    with biblical fury
    • 1984, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ghostbusters:
      Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
      Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
      Dr. Raymond Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff.
    • 1998 February 22, Walter Kirn, “The Wages of Righteousness”, in The New York Times[2]:
      Russell Banks's “Cloudsplitter,” a novel of near-biblical proportions about the abolitionist freedom fighter John Brown, is shaped like an explosive with an exceedingly long and winding fuse.
    • 2023 February 14, Damian Carrington, quoting António Guterres, “Rising seas threaten ‘mass exodus on a biblical scale’, UN chief warns”, in The Guardian[3], →ISSN:
      An increase in the pace at which sea levels are rising threatens “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale”, the UN secretary general has warned.

Quotations

edit

For quotations using this term, see Citations:biblical.

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit

Hypernyms

edit

Hyponyms

edit

Coordinate terms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Translations

edit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.