babel

CEFRC2

/ˈbeɪ.bl̩/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A confused mixture of many voices, languages, or sounds.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A confused mixture of sounds and voices, especially in different languages.

Examples

  • The biblical Tower of Babel is what architects call a ziggurat.

  • Can you imagine Babel's splendor?

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A place or scene of noise and confusion.

  2. A confused noise made by a number of voices.

More examples

In context

  • Therefore is the name of it called Babel[…]

  • As the three were making their way through the crowds of marketers, camels, donkeys, and horses that filled the market place with a confusing babel of sounds, Abdul plucked at Tarzan’s sleeve.

  • I closed the door hurriedly on the babel and groped my way back to bed. At that moment bed seemed to be the one safe, comforting thing in my whole baffling environment.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In the crowded market, there was a confusing blank of languages from tourists worldwide.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Latin Babel, from Biblical Hebrew בָּבֶל (bāḇel, “Babylon”), from Akkadian 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Bābilim); in Genesis associated with the idea of confusion. Doublet of Babylon.