ziggurat

zig·gu·rat

Z0015200 (zĭg′ə-răt′)n. A temple tower of ancient Mesopotamia, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

[Akkadian ziqqurratu, temple tower, from zaqāru, to build high; see zqr in Semitic roots.]

ziggurat

(ˈzɪɡʊˌræt) ,

zikkurat

zikurat

n (Archaeology) a type of rectangular temple tower or tiered mound erected by the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians in Mesopotamia. The tower of Babel is thought to be one of these[C19: from Assyrian ziqqurati summit, height]

zig•gu•rat

(ˈzɪg ʊˌræt)

also zik•ku•rat

(ˈzɪk-)

n. a brick temple tower built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians, consisting of a number of successively receding stories giving the appearance of a series of terraces. [1875–80; < Akkadian ziqquratu]

ziggurat

- A tower in the form of a terraced pyramid.See also related terms for tower.

ziggurat

An ancient Assyrian or Babylonian temple in the form of a pyramid with terraced sides tapering toward the top.

Thesaurus

Noun

ziggurat - a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonianszikkurat, zikurattemple - an edifice devoted to special or exalted purposes

Translations

ziggourat

ziggurat

(zĭg`o͝orăt), form of temple common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. The earliest examples date from the end of the 3d millenium B.C., the latest from the 6th cent. B.C. The ziggurat was a pyramidal structure, built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, with a shrine at the summit. The core of the ziggurat was of sun-baked bricks, and the facings were of fired bricks, often glazed in different colors, which are thought to have had cosmological significance. Access to the summit shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side or by a continuous spiral ramp from base to summit. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. Notable examples are the ruins at Ur and Khorsabad in Mesopotamia. Similar structures were built by the Mayan people of Central America.

Ziggurat

A Mesopotamian temple having the form of a terraced pyramid rising in three to seven successively receding stages in height; built of mud brick, featuring an outside staircase and a shrine at the top.

Ziggurat

(Akkadian), a cultic structure in ancient Mesopotamia. It was a sun-dried brick tower formed from stepped parallelepipeds or truncated pyramids (from three to seven); these contained no internal chambers except for the uppermost, which contained a shrine. The ziggurat’s terraces, which were painted in different colors (mainly black, red, and white), were connected by stairways or ramps. The walls were divided by rectangular recesses. A temple was usually located next to the ziggurat. Ziggurats have been preserved in Iraq (in the ancient cities of Borsippa, Babylon, and Dur-Sharrukin; all dating from the first millennium B.C.) and Iran (at the site of Choga Zambil, second millennium B.C.).

ziggurat

A Mesopotamian temple tower; from the end of the 3rd millennium B.C. on, ziggurats rose in three to seven stages, diminishing in area and often in height square (Sumer) or rectangular (Assyria), built of mud brick and faced with baked brick laid in bitumen.

ziggurat

, zikkurat, zikurat a type of rectangular temple tower or tiered mound erected by the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians in Mesopotamia. The tower of Babel is thought to be one of these

ziggurat

zig·gu·rat

ziggurat

zikkurat

zikurat

zig•gu•rat

also zik•ku•rat

ziggurat

ziggurat

ziggurat

ziggurat

Ziggurat

Ziggurat

ziggurat

ziggurat

ziggurat

Synonyms for ziggurat

noun a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians

Synonyms

Related Words