Tammuz

[ tah-mooz; for 1 also tah-mooz; for 2 also tam-uhz ]

noun
  1. the tenth month of the Jewish calendar.

  2. a Sumerian and Babylonian shepherd god, originally king of Erech, confined forever in the afterworld as a substitute for his consort Inanna or Ishtar.

Origin of Tammuz

1
First recorded in 1530–40; from Hebrew tamûz, from Sumerian Dumuzi, the shepherd god Tammuz

Words Nearby Tammuz

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Tammuz in a sentence

  • It was decreed that Tammuz should spend part of the year with one goddess and part of the year with the other.

    Myths of Babylonia and Assyria | Donald A. Mackenzie
  • Tammuz was also a Patriarch, who reigned for a long period over the land and had human offspring.

    Myths of Babylonia and Assyria | Donald A. Mackenzie
  • During the winter Tammuz dwelt in Hades, and at the beginning of spring Ishtar descended to search for him among the shades.

    Myths of Babylonia and Assyria | Donald A. Mackenzie
  • We have therefore to deal with Tammuz in his twofold character as a patriarch and a god of fertility.

    Myths of Babylonia and Assyria | Donald A. Mackenzie
  • She may have been identical with Belit-sheri, who is referred to in the Sumerian hymns as the sister of Tammuz.

    Myths of Babylonia and Assyria | Donald A. Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for Tammuz

Tammuz

/ (ˈtæmuːz, -ʊz) /


noun
  1. (in the Jewish calendar) the fourth month of the year according to biblical reckoning and the tenth month of the civil year, usually falling within June and July

Origin of Tammuz

1
from Hebrew

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012