leviathan

== English == === Etymology === The noun is derived from Middle English leviathan, levyathan, levyethan, from Late Latin leviathan, a transliteration of Biblical Hebrew לִוְיָתָן (liwyāṯān), possibly from לִוְיָה (liwyâ, “garland, wreath”) +‎ ־תָּן (-tān, suffix forming agent nouns), literally “the tortuous one”. Noun sense 2.2 (“political state”) was coined by English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) in his work Leviathan (1651): see the quotation. Noun sense 2.3 (“synonym of Satan”) refers to Isaiah 27:1 in the Bible (King James Version, spelling modernized): “In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /lɪˈvaɪəθn̩/ (General American) enPR: lə-vīʹə-thən, IPA(key): /ləˈvaɪəθ(ə)n/ Rhymes: -aɪəθən Hyphenation: lev‧i‧a‧than === Noun === leviathan (plural leviathans) (biblical, mythology) A vast sea monster of tremendous strength, either imaginary or real, described as the most dangerous and powerful creature in the ocean. (figurative) A thing which is monstrously great in size, strength, etc. (especially a ship); also, a person with great power or wealth. Synonyms: behemoth, colossus, mammoth, titan (political science) Sometimes in the form Leviathan: based on the writings of Thomas Hobbes, the political state, especially a domineering and totalitarian one. Holonym: the System Coordinate terms: Big Brother, the Man (obsolete) Synonym of Satan (“the supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions, who tempts humanity into sin; the Devil”). ==== Alternative forms ==== Leviathan ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Translingual: †Leviathan ==== Translations ==== === Adjective === leviathan (not comparable) Very large; enormous, gargantuan. Synonyms: giant, ginormous; see also Thesaurus:large ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === leviathan on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Leviathan (Hobbes book) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia