biblical

Alternative forms

• Biblical

Etymology

From Medieval Latin biblicus +‎ -al, equivalent to bible +‎ -ical.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪblɪkəl/

  • Audio (US):

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Adjective

biblical (comparative more biblical, superlative most biblical)

1. Of or relating to the Bible.

   Tithing is both a quranic and biblical virtue.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.

2. In accordance with the teachings of the Bible (according to some interpretation of it).

   biblical morality

   The biblical teaching is that…

   • 2023 February 16, Chris McGreal, quoting Mike Pompeo, “Pompeo says Israel has biblical claim to Palestine and is ‘not an occupying nation’”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, has defended Israel’s decades-long control of the Palestinian territories by claiming that the Jewish state has a biblical claim to the land and is therefore not occupying it.

3. (figurative) Very great; especially, exceeding previous records in scale.

   of biblical proportions

   with biblical fury

   • 1984, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ghostbusters:

     Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
     Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
     Dr. Raymond Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff.

   • 1998 February 22, Walter Kirn, “The Wages of Righteousness”, in The New York Times‎:

     Russell Banks's “Cloudsplitter,” a novel of near-biblical proportions about the abolitionist freedom fighter John Brown, is shaped like an explosive with an exceedingly long and winding fuse.

   • 2023 February 14, Damian Carrington, quoting António Guterres, “Rising seas threaten ‘mass exodus on a biblical scale’, UN chief warns”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     An increase in the pace at which sea levels are rising threatens “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale”, the UN secretary general has warned.