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leviathan

noun
/lɪˈvaɪəθn̩/UK/ləˈvaɪəθ(ə)n/US

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English leviathan, levyathan, levyethan, from Late Latin leviathan, a transliteration of Biblical Hebrew לִוְיָתָן (liwyāṯān), possibly from לִוְיָה (liwyâ, “garland, wreath”) + ־תָּן (-tān, suffix forming agent nouns), literally “the tortuous one”. Noun sense 2.2 (“political state”) was coined by English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) in his work Leviathan (1651): see the quotation. Noun sense 2.3 (“synonym of Satan”) refers to Isaiah 27:1 in the Bible (King James Version, spelling modernized): “In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.

  1. derived from לִוְיָתָן
  2. derived from leviathan
  3. inherited from leviathan,levyathan,levyethan

Definitions

  1. A vast sea monster of tremendous strength, either imaginary or real, described as the…

    A vast sea monster of tremendous strength, either imaginary or real, described as the most dangerous and powerful creature in the ocean.

    • So is this greate and wyde ſee [sea] alſo, wherin are thinges crepinge innumerable, both ſmall and greate beaſtes. There go the ſhippes ouer, and there is that Leuiathan, whom thou haſt made, to take his paſtyme therin.
    • The fomie vvaues out of the dreadfull deep, / The huge Leuiathan, dame Natures vvonder, / Making his ſport, that manie makes to vveep: […]

  2. A thing which is monstrously great in size, strength, etc. (especially a ship)

    A thing which is monstrously great in size, strength, etc. (especially a ship); also, a person with great power or wealth.

    • Of this laſt requeſt, the Lacquy of this great Leuiathan, promiſde he ſhould be maiſter, but he vvould not bring him to a miles end by land, (they vvere too many to meddle vvith).
    • So can the Lord deal, and often doth, vvith the great Behemoths and Leviathans of the vvorld: […]
    • The Duke of Bedford [Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford] is the Leviathan among all the creatures of the Crovvn. He tumbles about his unvvieldy bulk; he plays and frolicks in the ocean of the Royal bounty.

  3. Sometimes in the form Leviathan

    Sometimes in the form Leviathan: based on the writings of Thomas Hobbes, the political state, especially a domineering and totalitarian one.

    • Holonym: the System
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. Synonym of Satan (“the supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions, who tempts…

      Synonym of Satan (“the supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions, who tempts humanity into sin; the Devil”).

    2. Very large

      Very large; enormous, gargantuan.

      • Her virtuous, pale-blue, saucerlike eyes flooded with leviathan tears on unexpected occasions and made Yossarian mad.

    3. Alternative letter-case form of leviathan.

      • So is this greate and wyde ſee [sea] alſo, wherin are thinges crepinge innumerable, both ſmall and greate beaſtes. There go the ſhippes ouer, and there is that Leuiathan, whom thou haſt made, to take his paſtyme therin.
      • The fomie vvaues out of the dreadfull deep, / The huge Leuiathan, dame Natures vvonder, / Making his ſport, that manie makes to vveep: […]

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for leviathan. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA