behemoth

From Middle English behemoth, bemoth, from Late Latin behemoth, from Hebrew בהמות‎ (bəhēmōt). The Hebrew word is either:

• an intensive plural of בהמה‎ (bəhēmāh, “beast”), from Proto-Semitic (compare Ethiopic ብህመ (bəhmä, “to be dumb, to be speechless”), Arabic ب ه م‎ (b-h-m)), or
• a borrowing of Egyptian (*pꜣ-jḥ-mw, “hippopotamus”, literally “the ox of the water”), from pꜣ (“definite article”) + jḥ (“ox, cattle”) + mw (“water”) in a direct genitive construction; for the pronunciation, cf. the later Coptic descendants ⲡ- (p-) + ⲉϩⲉ (ehe) + ⲙⲟⲟⲩ (moou).

• IPA^(key): /bəˈhi(ː)məθ/

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behemoth (plural behemoths)

1. (biblical) A great and mighty beast God shows Job in Job 40:15-24.
2. A great and mighty monster.
3. (by extension) Something which has the qualities of great power and might, and monstrous proportions.

   Synonyms: colossus, leviathan, mammoth, titan

   • 2011 January 18, Lovejoy, Joe, “Cardiff City 0 Stoke City 2”, in Guardian Online‎:

     The diehards who did turn out were at least rewarded with a first sight of Jon Parkin, the behemoth striker signed from Preston, who scored a stunning goal on his debut at Norwich last weekend.

   • 2012, James S. A. Corey, Gods of Risk, →ISBN:

     The wide access corridors passed slowly, the conduits and pipes like the circulatory system of some vast planetary behemoth.

• 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Job 40:15–18:

  Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
  Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
  He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
  His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.

• 2001, Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl, page 58:

  Next she doused the smouldering troll with the contents of the restaurant's fire extinguisher, hoping the icy powder wouldn't revive the sleeping behemoth.

• behemothian
• behemothic

• leviathan

• behemoth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia