Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.
Wiktionary
- n. A temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A temple tower of the Babylonians or Assyrians, consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure, built in successive stages, with outside staircases, and a shrine at the top; -- called also
zikkurat .
WordNet 3.0
- n. a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians
Etymologies
- Akkadian ziqqurratu, temple tower, from zaqāru, to build high; see zqr in Semitic roots.
Examples
“SHUSTER: The ziggurat is the nearby remains of an ancient pyramid from the Samarian city of Ur, dating back more than 4,000 years.”
“This so called ziggurat is just decadent housing for all the children and wives of the shieks.”
ZIGGURAT: Dubai Carbon Neutral Pyramid will House 1 Million | Inhabitat
“A ziggurat was a tall, stepped temple-tower believed to connect heaven and earth - hence the angels ascending and descending the steps.”
“The life of a slave was not an easy thing, so we tried to convey that in the scaffolding around the ziggurat, which is just put together with twine.”
“He poked at the humid ziggurat with the machete he'd been using to cut path.”
“That moment found Op de Beeck's camera alighting on a ziggurat-like palace that looked so grand, yet flimsy, that you were sure it was made of cardboard or paper.”
The Washington Post: At the Hirshhorn: Have your Palace and Eat It, Too
“The achievement is all the more remarkable given that Bruneau's intimate, visually spare production includes a stage-wide mirror, positioned just behind the ziggurat of black risers that is the other major set element.”
The Washington Post: Theater review: Taffety Punk's all-female 'Julius Caesar'
“Now the contents of Pro Tools are packed into a ziggurat of boxes threatening to engulf his small Brooklyn studio.”
The Guardian: Cory Arcangel: 'I'm trying to get to the idea of design's idea of the future'
“Quite the contrary, we still have our great building projects, our pyramid - and ziggurat-equivalents.”
“On the eastern side of the city was a second wall, surrounding the royal palace, and another protecting the central ziggurat, a steep pyramid containing the temple to Bel-Marduk, chief god of Babylon.”
Lists
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reesetee ...and easier to climb, AZ. Mar 26, 2007
hfabulous Jaz Coleman and Anne Dudley recorded a beautiful album entitled The Victorious City "way back" in 1990.
One of my favorite tracks from the album is entitled Ziggarats(sic) Of Cinnamon. All ziggurats should be made of cinnamon and/or chocolate.
Oddly, the Playstation 2 series Xenosaga featured a cyborg character named Ziggurat 8, presumably as excuse to give the space-mercenary the nickname Ziggy (in reference to David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust persona).
I secretly imagined it was because his cold metal exterior shell was hiding a centre of pure cinnamon and/or chocolate. Mar 23, 2007
abraxaszugzwang so much cooler than a pyramid Feb 12, 2007