Ziggurat - Definitions from Dictionary.com

4 results for: Ziggurat

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

zig·gu·rat

Audio Help [zig-oo-rat] Pronunciation Key

–noun

(among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians) a temple of Sumerian origin in the form of a pyramidal tower, consisting of a number of stories and having about the outside a broad ascent winding round the structure, presenting the appearance of a series of terraces.

Also, zik·ku·rat, zik·u·rat

Audio Help [zik-oo-rat] Pronunciation Key.

[Origin: 1875–80; < Akkadian ziqquratu

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Ziggurat

To learn more about Ziggurat visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

zig·gu·rat Audio Help (zĭg'ə-rāt') Pronunciation Key
n. A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

[Akkadian ziqqurratu, temple tower, from zaqāru, to build high; see zqr in Semitic roots.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ziggurat

1877, from Assyrian ziqquratu "height, pinnacle," from zaqaru "to be high."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This