tree of knowledge of good and evil


noun
  1. the tree in the Garden of Eden bearing the forbidden fruit that was tasted by Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:17; 3:6–24.

Origin of tree of knowledge of good and evil

1
First recorded in 1525–35
  • Also called tree of knowledge.

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British Dictionary definitions for tree of knowledge of good and evil

tree of knowledge of good and evil

noun
  1. Old Testament the tree in the Garden of Eden bearing the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve ate, thus incurring loss of primal innocence (Genesis 2:9; 3:2–7)

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

Cultural definitions for tree of knowledge of good and evil

tree of knowledge of good and evil

A tree in the Garden of Eden, the fruit of which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat.

Notes for tree of knowledge of good and evil

They did eat the forbidden fruit, and their disobedience brought about the Fall of Man.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.